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RECEPTION 


OF 


fflIB®!fi(&!B  HSEOEilffSOH 


IN 


©asu^sr  BSi^tp^a, 


^Compiled  from  various  British  Publications-] 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED  BY  ISAAC  KNAP? 

1836. 


CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Introduction, 5 

Great  Anti-Slavery  Meeting  at  Birming- 
ham, Oct.  14,  1835, 13 

Soiree,  in  honor  of  Mr.  Thompson,  at 

Glasgow,  Jan.  25,  183G, 33 

Address  presented  to  Mr.  Thompson  at 
An  Entertainment  given  by  the  inhab- 
itants of  Edinburgh,  Feb.  19,  1836,   .     58 
Lecture  at  Edinburgh,  Jan.  27,  1836,   .     64 
Jan.  31,      "       .     77 
Feb.  8,        "       .     85 

"       at  Glasgow, 96 

Remarks  at  the  Newcastle-upon-Tyne 

Peace  Meeting, 108 

Lecture  at  Glasgow,  Jan.  29,  1836,     .   117 

Address  to  Ministers, 141 

Proceedings  at  the  2d  Annual  Meeting 
of  the  Glasgow  Emancipation  Society, 

March  1,  1836, 150 

Meetings  in  London, 176 


INTRODUCTION. 

While  Mr.  Thompson  remained  in  this 
country,  it  is  well  known  that  one  of  the  fa- 
vorite accusations  of  the  pro-slavery  press 
against  him,  was,  that  he  came  hither  a  fugi- 
tive from  justice — that  obliged  to  leave  Eng- 
land, he  visited  America  to  avoid  transporta- 
tion to  Botany  Bay.  To  his  persevering  slan- 
derers it  signified  nothing  that  he  had  the  at- 
testation of  some  of  the  best  men  of  Great 
Britain,  to  the  excellence  of  his  character  as 
a  man  and  a  Christian,  and  the  incalculable 
value  of  his  services  in  the  cause  of  humani- 
ty ;  it  mattered  not  that  he  came  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  a  noble  body  of  Philanthropists — 
including  men  illustrious  for  their  talents 
and  attainments,  learned  divines,  able  legis- 
ators,  good  and  wise  and  pure-minded  men 
— highly  esteemed  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlan- 
tic, for  their  sterling  worth,  their  ardent  piety 
and  active  benevolence  and  devotion  to  every 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

good  word  and  work.  It  mattered  not  that 
his  own  deportment  here,  was  such  as  cor- 
roborated the  favorable  testimonials  of  his 
British  friends — that  he  bore  himself  as  a  gen- 
tleman and  a  Christian — that  he  exhibited 
not  only  those  qualities  which  dazzle  and  de- 
light, and  extort  admiration,  .but  those  also 
which  command  respect  and  enchain  affec- 
tion. All  this  went  for  nothing.  Enough 
was  it  for  the  enemies  of  impartial  liberty — 
the  apologists  of  legalized  man-stealing,  that 
Mr.  Thompson's  unrivalled  eloquence  was 
enlisted  on  the  side  of  justice,  truth,  and  the 
equal  rights  of  man — enough  that  he  was  an 
enemy  and  a  formidable  enemy  to  that  ini- 
quitous system  which  they  had  set  themselves 
to  excuse  and  defend.  By  unwearied  efforts 
in  the  work  of  calumny  and  abuse,  by  con- 
stant reiteration  of  gross  falsehoods  and  in- 
flammatory appeals  to  passion  and  prejudice 
and  national  jealousy,  they  at  length  succeed- 
ed in  arraying  against  him  a  feeling  of  such 
bitter  hostility  that  he  could  no  longer,  with- 
out exposing  his  life  to  imminent  peril,  con- 
tinue to  prosecute  the  purposes  of  his  benev- 
olent mission  among  us,  and  his  friends  here, 
though  reluctant  to  part  with  him  and  relin- 


INTRODUCTION.  VU 

quish  the  anticipated  advantages  of  his  co- 
operation, felt  constrained  to  counsel  his  de- 
parture from  our  shores. 

And  whither  did  he  fly?  Why, verily — he 
returned  directly  to  that  land  which  his  ca- 
lumniators declare  that  he  was  forced  to  leave, 
that  he  might  escape  an  ignominious  punish- 
ment. And  how  was  he  received  there? — 
Were  the  officers  of  justice  standing  ready  to 
seize  him,  the  instant  he  should  again  set 
foot  on  British  soil?  Was  the  convict  ship 
waiting  to  receive  him  on  board,  and  then 
hoist  sail  for  New  Holland  ?  The  answer 
may  be  gathered  from  the  following  pages, 
which  describe  the  manner  of  his  reception 
in  his  native  country,  and  contain  accounts  of 
various  meetings  which  he  has  attended,  and 
reports,  more  or  less  full,  of  the  speeches  he 
has  delivered,  since  his  arrival  there. 

A  more  full  refutation  of  the  foul  slander 
which  represented  him  as  '  bankrupt  in  repu- 
tation '  in  his  own  country,  could  not  be  de- 
sired, than  is  furnished  by  the  warm  and  cor- 
dial— nay,  the  enthusiastic  welcome  which 
has  met  him  in  every  part  of  the  island  which 
he  has  yet  visited.  Glasgow,  Edinburgh 
Newcastle  and  London  have  given  loud  and 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

united  testimony  to  the  fact,  that  George 
Thompson  is  indeed  the  man  whom  the  peo- 
ple of  Great  Britain  delight  to  honor.  He  has 
in  truth,  made  a  triumphal  progress  through 
the  United  Kingdoms,  everywhere  hailed  with 
acclamations  of  joy,  loaded  with  caresses  and 
greeted  with  the  hearty  congratulations  of  all 
classes  of  people,  on  his  safe  return  from  his 
arduous,  and  to  a  very  good  degree,  success- 
ful mission.  Especially  has  he  been  honored 
with  the  highly  favorable  notice  and  friendly 
attentions  and  commendations  of  those  whose 
friendship  is  peculiarly  valuable — of  those 
*  whose  own  high  merit  claims  the  praise 
they  give.' 

First  after  his  arrival,  comes  the  splendid 
Soiree  in  Glasgow,  on  Monday,  the  25th  of 
January,  at.  which  the  large  hall  used  on  the 
occasion,  was  at  an  early  hour,  '  crowded  with 
a  brilliant  assembly  '  convened  to  do  him  hon- 
or. The  most  eminent  persons  in  the  city, 
clergy  and  laymen,  were  present  and  active 
in  the  proceedings  of  the  evening — eloquent 
addresses  were  given,  and  spirited  resolutions 
adopted,  condemning  in  strong  terms  the  sla- 
very and  prejudice  against  color  existing  in 
America,    and  expressing  the  '  high  admira 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

tion  '  which  the  meeting  entertained  '  of  the 
blameless  propriety,  distinguished  talent  and 
noble  self-devotion '  exhibited  by  Mr.  T.  in 
prosecuting  the  objects  of  his  mission  to  this 
country  ;  as  well  as  the  gratitude  to  God  which 
was  felt  for  the  success  that  had  attended  his 
labors,  and  for  his  safe  return. 

The  demonstrations  of  applause  with  which 
Mr.  Thompson  was  received  on  entering  the 
hall,  and  when  he  rose  to  speak,  as  well  as 
repeatedly  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  are 
represented  by  the  Glasgow  papers,  to  have 
been  enthusiastic  and  vehement  beyond  de- 
scription. A  most  unusual  and  unaccounta- 
ble reception  truly,  for  a  man  just  returned 
from  a  voyage  made  to  escape  transportation 
as  a  criminal ! 

We  next  find  Mr.  T.  at  Edinburgh,  to  which 
place  he  went  on  the  26th  of  January,  and 
where  on  the  evening  of  the  27th  he  met  the 
ladies  and  gentlemen  forming  the  Commit- 
tees of  the  Edinburgh  Emancipation  Society, 
and  gave  a  narrative  of  his  doings  in  Ameri- 
ca, which  is  declared  in  the  Edinburgh  pa- 
pers, to  have  been  '  to  every  one  present  far 
more  than  satisfactory.'  Resolutions  highly 
complimentary  to  himself,  and  decidedly  ap« 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

proving  his  conduct  in  the  United  States,  were 
unanimously  adopted.  [See  page  74  of  this 
volume.] 

On  the  next  evening — Thursday,  Jan.  28th, 
at  a  public  meeting  of  the  members  and  friend 
of  the  same  Society,  which  consisted  of  more 
than  two  thousand  persons,  admitted  by  tick- 
ets, he  gave  an  account  of  his  mission,  and 
was  received  with  the  same  indications  of  un- 
qualified approbation,  as  at  Glasgow.  His 
first  appearance  called  out  '  several  distinct 
rounds  of  applause,'  and  the  cheering  was 
frequently  repeated  during  the  evening. 

The  next  day  Mr.  T.  returned  to  Glasgow, 
and  in  the  evening  gave  a  lecture  on  Ameri- 
can slavery,  in  Dr.  Wardlaw's  chapel,  to  a 
large  audience.  Such  was  the  anxiety  to 
hear  him,  that  long  before  the  hour  of  meet- 
ing, the  house  was  filled.  His  reception,  as 
on  the  former  occasion,  was  such  as  evinced 
that  he  was  the  universal  favorite.  The  re- 
marks made  by  the  Chairman  of  the  meeting, 
Rev.  Dr.  Heugh,  at  the  close  of  the  lecture, 
and  greeted  with  unequivocal  tokens  of  ap- 
proval by  the  assembly,  [See  page  140]  will 
serve  to  show  the  estimation  in  which  they 
held  their  'excellent  Missionarv.5 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 

From  Glasgow  he  again  went  to  Edinburgh, 
and  on  Monday  evening,  Feb.  1st,  addressed 
an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Edinburgh  Eman- 
cipation Society,  in  continuation  of  the  pro- 
ceeding Thursday's  discourse,  on  the  subject 
of  his  American  mission.  As  before,  he  was 
loudly  and  repeatedly  applauded.  At  the 
conclusion  of  his  address,  Rev.  Dr.  Ritchie 
moved,  and  the  meeting  unanimously  adopt- 
ed, a  series  of  resolutions,  couched  in  lan- 
guage of  the  highest  commendation  of  Mr. 
Thompson's  character  and  conduct,  and  ex- 
pressive of  deep  sympathy  with  the  Abolition- 
ists of  this  country,  and  at  the  same  time  re- 
buking with  kindness  and  Christian  fidelity, 
the  churches,  ministers  and  professors  in 
America,  who  give  their  support  to  the  ini- 
quitous system  of  slavery. 

The  next  Monday  evening,  Feb.  8th,  Mr. 
Thompson  attended  and  took  part  in  a  public 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh,  held 
for  the  purpose  of  expressing  their  views  of 
slavery  in  the  United  States.  The  Lord  Pro- 
vost of  the  city  presided,  and  a  large  number 
of  the  most  distinguished  citizens,  among 
whom  were  nearly  twenty  clergymen,  appear- 
ed upon  the  platform.     When,  after  several 


Xil  INTRODUCTION. 

other  gentlemen  had  spoken,  Mr.  T.  rose  to 
address  the  meeting,  he  was  greeted,  as  usu- 
al, '  with  tremendous  applause.'  Among  the 
resolutions  adopted,  was  one  which  spoke  in 
laudatory  terms,  of  his  talents  and  services  in 
the  cause  of  emancipation. 

The  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh,  not  yet  sat- 
isfied with  what  they  had  done  to  honor  him, 
gave  Mr.  Thompson  an  entertainment,  on  the 
evening  of  February  19th,  at  which  an  ad- 
dress, signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting,  by  R. 
K.  Greville,  L.  L.  D.,  Chairman,  was  present- 
ed to  him,  full  of  the  warmest  expressions  of 
admiration,  esteem  and  affection ;  eulogizing 
his  eloquence,  zeal,  prudence  and  truly  chris- 
tian spirit ;  and  expressing  ardent  wishes  for 
his  future  prosperity  and  happiness. 

Mr.  Thompson  was  in  Glasgow  on  the  first 
of  March,  at  the  second  annual  meeting  of 
the  Glasgow  Emancipation  Society,  and  of 
course  participated  in  the  exercises,  and  was 
greeted  by  the  assembly  with  the  customary 
tribute  of  applause.  Honorable  mention  was 
made  of  his  name,  both  in  the  speeches  de- 
livered, and  the  resolutions  adopted  on  that 
occasion,  and  also  in  the  Society's  '  Address 
to  the  Ministers  of  Religion  and  the  Friends 


INTRODUCTION.  xiil 

of  Negro  Emancipation/  dated  on  the  10th 
of  the  following  month. 

On  Monday,  the  28th  of  March,  he  arrived 
at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  and  in  the  evening, 
lectured  to  a  very  numerous  audience,  on 
American  slavery.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to 
state  here — since  one  of  the  charges  against 
Mr.  T.  is,  that  his  whole  employment  in  Eng- 
land is  to  slander  and  vilify  this  country — 
that  '  in  every  lecture,'  as  he  declares  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Garrison,  he  strives  '  to  do  full 
justice  to  America,  by  referring  to  the  many 
noble  and  mighty  institutions  to  which  she 
has  given  birth,  and  to  her  unexampled  and 
unbounded  facilities  for  greatness  and  useful- 
ness.' In  the  lecture  just  mentioned,  a  New- 
castle paper  says,  that  '  he  spoke  of  the  United 
States,  in  terms  which,  if  transferred  to  his 
own  country,  would  be  a  high  panegyric' 

A  few  brief  extracts  from  the  letter  to  Mr. 
Garrison,  will  show  his  farther  operations  in 
Newcastle. 

1  Tuesday,  29th.  Had  the  unspeakable 
honor  of  being  entertained  as  the  advocate  of 
the  negro,  at  a  splendid  tea-party  in  the  spa- 
cious Music  Hall.  About  600  persons  were 
present.  The  widely  known  and  justly  be- 
loved bard  of  Negro  Freedom,  James  Mont- 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

gomery,  was  present  and  delivered  a  thrilling 
address.' 

*  Wednesday,  30th.  By  particular  request, 
pleaded  the  cause  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  with  special  reference  to  the  Society's 
operations  in  the  West  Indies.' 

1  Thursday,  31st.  Attended  a  great  meet- 
ing of  the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  at  which  the 
Society  was  re-organized,  and  became  the 
'  Newcastle-upon-Tyne  Society  for  the  ex- 
tinction of  Slavery  and  the  Slave  Trade 
throughout  the  world.' 

'Friday,  April  1st.  Had  the  privilege  of 
advocating  the  cause  of  Temperance  in  the 
Friends'  meeting-house,  which  was  far,  very 
far  too  small  for  the  numbers  that  flocked  to 
hear.' 

At  this  meeting  too,  the  British  papers 
speak  of  the  high  praises  which  he  bestowed 
upon  America — especially  for  her  zeal  and 
success  in  the  Temperance  reformation. 

'  Monday,  April  4th.  By  special  request, 
attended  two  meetings  of  the  Wesleyan  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

Wednesday,  6th.  Held  a  very  numerous 
meeting  of  ladies  in  the  Friends'  meeting- 
house. After  an  address  of  nearly  two  hours, 
a  Society  for  promoting  Universal  Emancipa- 
tion was  formed,  and  a  host  of  ladies  enlisted 
on  the  spot  as  contributors,  collectors,  distrib- 
utors of  tracts,  &c.  &o.' 


INTRODUCTION*.  X? 

On  Tuesday  evening,  the  5th,  I  went  over 
to  Sunderland,  and  again  spoke  on  behalf  of 
the  Wesley  an  Missionary  Society.' 

'  Thursday,  7th.  Attended  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Peace  Society,  in  Newcastle, 
and  spoke  for  nearly  two  hours  in  favor  of 
radical  peace  principles.' 

Of  all  these  addresses,  this  volume  con- 
tains only  that  given  to  the  Peace  Society, 
which  will  be  found  commencing  on  the  109th 
page.  From  the  marked  and  emphatic  ex- 
pressions of  approval  with  which  this  was  re- 
ceived, and  from  the  comments  upon  the 
speeches  and  the  speaker,  contained  on  page 
108,  the  reader  may  infer  what  the  people  of 
Newcastle  think  of  Mr.  T.'s  character,  intel- 
lectual and  moral. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  and  again,  by  adjourn- 
ment, on  the  30th,  Mr.  Thompson  addressed 
a  very  large  assembly  at  Rev.  Mr.  Price's 
chapel  in  London,  on  the  subject  of  his  Amer- 
ican mission,  and  in  vindication  of  his  treat- 
ment of  Dr.  Cox,  at  the  second  Anniversary 
of  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society.  Here, 
as  everywhere  else,  he  was  received  with  the 
strongest  manifestations  of  approbation,  and 
the  verdict  of  the  audience  was  evidently  most 


XVI  INTRODUCTION. 

decidedly  in  his  favor,  and  condemnatory  of 
the  conduct  of  Dr.  C.  which,  on  the  occasion 
just  alluded  to,  he  had  so  severely  rebuked. 

Besides  the  meetings  at  which  Mr.  Thomp- 
son was  present,  this  volume  contains  the  pro- 
ceedings of  one  held  at  Birmingham  last  fall, 
(while  he  was  still  in  this  country,)  at  which 
the  West  India  Apprenticeship  was  discuss- 
ed, and  its  abolition,  and  the  substitution  for 
it,  of  immediate  and  entire  emancipation,  was 
strenuously  advocated  by  the  several  speak- 
ers. 

The  contents  of  the  volume  having  been 
received  from  time  to  time  in  detached  por- 
tions, and  very  irregularly,  and  put  in  type  as 
they  came  to  hand,  are  not  arranged  in  the 
chronological  order  of  events.  To  supply,  in 
some  measure,  this  deficiency,  the  several 
meetings  have  been  noticed  in  this  introduc- 
tion, in  the  order  in  which  they  occurred. 

C.  C.  BURLEIGH. 

Boston,  Sept.  1836. 


GREAT 

ANTI-SLAVERY   MEETING, 

AT  BIRMINGHAM,  ENGLAND. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Borough  of  Birmingham,  held  at  the  Town  Hall, 
on  Wednesday,  October  14,  1835,  Paul  Moon 
James,  Esq.  High  Bailiff,  in  the  Chair,  '  To  take 
into  consideration  the  cruel  oppressions  and  ag- 
gravated sufferings  to  which  the  negroes  are  still 
subjected  in  our  Colonies  under  the  name  of  Ap- 
prenticeship, notwithstanding  the  enormous  sum 
of  twenty  millions  sterling  granted  to  the  West 
Indians  by  the  British  Parliament — also  to  con- 
sider the  propriety  of  presenting  a  Memorial  to 
Lord  Melbourne,  and  the  adoption  of  such  Reso- 
lutions as  the  Meeting  may  deem  expedient.' 

The  Chairman,  in  opening  the  business  of  the 
meeting  said,  whatever  difference  of  opinion 
might  have  existed,  as  to  the  mode  of  getting  rid 
of  slavery,  there  was  none  whatever  as  to  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  measure  itself.  All  were  agreed 
that  slavery  ought  to  be  abolished  altogether.  It 
was  this  feeling  unanimously  expressed  through- 
out the  nation  that  operated  on  a  willing  govern- 
ment, and  which  induced  them  to  proclaim  the 
triumph  of  humanity  in  the  emancipation  of  the 
2 


14  GREAT    MEETING 

negroes.  Many  excellent  men  blamed  the  gov- 
ernment for  the  money  given  in  compensation. 
He,  for  one,  must  say,  he  thought  the  compensa- 
tion just  to  this  country — England  had  been  a  guil- 
ty nation,  and  it  appeared  but  just  that  she  should 
share  a  portion  of  the  punishment  Entertaining 
these  sentiments  he  agreed  to  the  measure  as  a 
sin  offering  for  the  guilt  of  the  nation.  It  had 
been  the  habit  of  his  life  to  endeavor  to  pursue  a 
moderate  course,  and  after  long  experience  he  had 
found  it  the  best;  therefore,  on  this  occasion  he 
would  recommend  a  course  of  moderation.  In  a 
few  short  years  the  slaves  would  be  entirely  free, 
and  in  the  possession  of  all  those  blessings  to 
which  they  were  entitled.  The  government  were 
of  this  opinion,  and  if  the  people  did  their  duty, 
and  called  upon  the  Legislature  to  do  theirs,  they 
would,  no  doubt,  do  it  fearlessly,  and  after  all,  the 
event  was  in  the  hands  of  Providence.  (Loud 
cheering.) 

Joshua  ScHOLEFiELD,Esq.  M.  P.  in  presenting 
the  first  resolution,  expressed  the  regret  he  felt, 
and  that  of  every  friend  of  humanity,  at  the  dis- 
appointment of  their  just  expectations  with  regard 
to  the  clause  respecting  apprenticeships.  It  was 
the  understanding  on  the  part  of  the  abolitionists 
that  the  period  of  apprenticeship  was  to  have  been 
coercion  of  labor  in  its  mildest  form,  similar  to 
what  constitutes  the  service  of  apprenticeship  in  this 
country ;  whereas,  it  had  been  made,  on  the  con- 
trary, by  the  planters,  a  period  for  an  increased 
exaction  of  labor,  by  which  the  slave-owner  gfts 
out  of  the  bones  and  sinews  of  the  negro,  the  la- 
bor of  fourteen  years.  He  differed  in  opinion 
with  those  who  thought  no  compensation  oiiffhtto 
have  been  made  to  the  owners  of  slaves,  for  the 


AT    BIRMINGHAM.  15 

laws  of  the  country  had  sanctioned  the  traffic  in 
human  flesh  and  human  blood,  and  the  man  who 
had  invested  his  money  in  the  horrible  trade,  was 
as  much  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  law,  as 
he  who  made  an  investment  in  any  other  article 
of  legalised  commerce,  although,  for  his  own  part, 
so  great  wa3  his  abhorrence  of  this  inhuman  deal- 
ing, that  he  should  prefer  to  be  a  slave  rather  than 
be  an  owner  of  slaves.     (Cheers.) 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Marsh  seconded  the  resolution, 
and  after  a  few  prefaratory  remarks,  said,  there 
was  but  one  feeling  pervading  that  meeting,  and 
that  was,  that  their  fellow-men  and  their  fellow- 
citizens  should  enjoy  the  same  liberties  as  them- 
selves. (Applause.)  Why  was  the  balance  of 
power  in  Europe  considered  so  essential — why,  to 
prevent  the  power  of  the  multitude  from  tramp- 
ling upon  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  few. — 
(Cheers.)  What,  he  would  ask  the  Chairman,  was 
the  object  of  the  meeting?  Were  they  met  that 
night  to  advocate  the  liberty  of  the  Slave  ?  Why 
he  thought  that  the  public  opinion  of  the  nation 
and  twenty  millions  of  money  had  secured  it;  but 
it  appeared  he  was  mistaken  :  the  Negro  icas  still 
in  slavery,  and  all  their  labor  had  been  in  vain.  It 
had  been  asserted,  that  there  was  a  danger  in 
emancipating  the  Slave,  because  he  was  likely  to 
abuse  his  liberty.  This  he  considered  most  falla- 
cious reasoning,  because  it  was  applicable  to  eve- 
ry man  who  abused  any  favor  conferred  upon  him. 
In  the  committee,  the  other  day,  they  had  had  a 
discussion  on  the  word  indignation,  supposing  it 
to  be  too  strong  a  term,  but  he  did  not  vote  for 
the  omission  of  the  word  ;  for,  he  felt  the  utmost 
indignation  on  reflecting  that  after  the  sacrifice 
of  twenty  millions  of  their  money  the  same  state 


16  GREAT    MEETING 

of  things  existed  in  the  Colonies.  He  stood  not 
now  in  America,  where  the  professors  of  liberty 
would  not  allow  him  to  open  his  ?nouth.  (Cries  of 
4  shame,  shame.')  He  stood  before  John  Bull,  who 
was  an  honest  and  right-feeling  fellow.  He  would 
give  more  money  to  do  good  than  the  rest  of  the 
world,  but  he  did  not  like  to  be  cheated.  (Hear, 
hear.)  They  had  met  together  that  evening  to 
ask  what  had  been  done  with  their  money,  and  to 
declare  publicly  that  if  the  twenty  millions  which 
they  had  given  for  the  liberty  of  the  Negroes  was 
not  properly  applied,  they  would  not  sit  down 
content  under  the  injustice.  [The  Rev.  gentle- 
man, after  an  appropriate  speech,  concluded  by 
seconding  the  resolution,  which  was  carried  unan- 
imously.] 

Mr.  George  Edmonds  came  forward  and  was 
received  with  loud  cheering.  He  agreed  with  the 
High  Bailiff  that  the  abolition  of  Slavery  had 
been  determined  upon  by  the  people  of  England, 
but  what  was  the  fa«t  ?  Was  Slavery  abolished  ? 
JVo,  it  was  not.  He  was  quite  sure  they  would 
hear  that  night  from  gentlemen  in  the  meeting, 
that  so  far  from  its  being  abolished,  they  had  still 
an  apprenticeship  of  slavery,  and  that  the  friends 
of  the  negroes  were  now  in  that  position  which 
rendered  it  necessary  to  start  again.  He  was 
surprised  to  hear  the  chairman  talk  of  the  triumph 
which  they  had  achieved.  It  was  true  it  was  a 
triumph  of  virtue  on  the  part  of  the  people,  who 
had  determined  on  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  ; 
but  if  all  he  had  heard  and  read  upon  the  subject 
was  correct,  there  could  be  no  doubt  but  all  their 
efforts  had  been  frustrated.  The  slavery  now 
practiced  was  real  slavery,  and  hence  he  was 
warranted  in  saying  that  in  point  of  fact  the  peo- 


AT    BIRMINGHAM.  17 

pie  had  not  obtained  any  triumph  :  it  ivas  nothing 
more  than  a  mere  delusion.  The  chairman  had 
said  that  England  was  a  guilty  nation.  To  this, 
in  the  sense  implied  in  the  observation  of  that 
gentleman,  he  could  not  subscribe.  Were  the 
people  of  England  guilty,  because  they  stood  by 
before  the  passing  of  the  Reform  Bill,  when  they 
had  no  voice  in  parliament,  and  saw  the  system 
of  slavery  carried  on?  No,  they  were  not. 
Where,  he  would  ask,  was  his,  (Mr.  Edmond's) 
guilt,  when  he  had  been  incessant  in  his  efforts  to 
rouse  the  public  feeling  against  it?  Where  was 
the  chairman's  guilt  when  he  was  writing  eloquent 
poems  upon  the  subject,  and  would,  if  possible, 
have  inspired  every  human  being  with  the  same 
detestation  of  the  system  which  he  himself  felt? 
(Cheers.)  Would  he  not  have  given  pounds  to 
have  been  able  to  abolish  slavery,  and  in  doing  so 
to  gratify  his  own  heart?  Although,  as  he  had 
said,  it  was  a  triumph  of  virtue,  still  he  did  not 
think  that  the  people  ought  to  have  paid  twenty 
millions  of  money  for  that  triumph.  (Cheers.) 
What  a  villanous  government  it  ivas,  and  ivhat  an 
atrocious  villain  Lord  Stanley  was,  to  propose  to 
give  such  a  sum  of  money.  The  original  intention 
was  to  give  fifteen  millions,  and  from  some  reason 
only  known  to  the  actors  in  the  scheme,  it  was 
raised  to  twenty  millions.  He  should  like  to  have 
the  whole  affair  investigated,  and  the  reasons 
fully  ascertained,  why  the  people  were  compelled 
to  pay  that  money.  But  they  were  a  guilty  na- 
tion! In  what  did  their  guilt  consist?  Why, 
they  eat  the  sugar.  Well,  but  did  they  not  pay 
for  it?  They  were  a  guilty  nation  only  in  not 
compelling  the  government  to  emancipate  the 
slaves  free  of  any  expense  either  to  themselves  or 
the  British  public.  He  asserted  the  government 
2* 


18  GREAT    MEETING 

were  the  only  guilty  p.arty,  and  not  the  people. 
(Hear,  hear.)  WelJ,  they  paid  twenty  millions, 
and  this  was  called  a  sin-ofiering,  and  the  people 
•were  consequently  the  sinners.  Did  the  people 
ever  inflict  the  whip,  or  did  they  ever  sanction 
such  an  inhuman  practice  ?  No!  they  never  did, — 
and  he  defied  any  man  to  show  any  connexion 
between  the  people  and  the  system ;  only  that 
they  did  not  rise  up  and  knock  down  the  Govern- 
ment who  had  dared  to  perpetuate  such  a  disgrace 
to  the  nation.  (Applause.)  The  people,  however, 
so  far  from  participating  in  the  crime,  were  willing 
to  make  any  sacrifice  to  remove  the  evil ;  and 
hence  their  tacit  consent  to  such  a  lavish  expen- 
diture to  effect  the  object.  They  knew,  it  was 
true,  that  the  slave-owners  were  devils,  actuated  by 
the  basest  avarice  ;  still,  they  thought  that  twenty 
millions  would  have  satisfied  them;  but  what  was 
their  reward  for  thus  liberally  rewarding  them  ? 
Why,  a  new  and  systematic  plan  of  punishment 
had  been  adopted  by  them,  and  acted  upon  with 
the  utmost  cruelty.  According  to  the  present 
system,  the  child  might  now  be  separated  from 
the  mother!  The  negro  who  happened  to  lose 
half  a  day  was  compelled  to  work  three  days  as  a 
punishment:  and  the  most  villanous  part  of  this 
regulation  or  law  was,  that  the  three  days'  labor 
thus  imposed  on  the  unfortunate  being  went  to 
the  planter,  who  often  struggled  to  find  out  imag- 
inary faults  in  order  to  inflict  a  real  injury. 
(Hear,  hear.)  If  an  unfortunate  mother  sat  down 
in  the  fields,  and  was  so  inhuman  as  to  spend  half 
an  hour  in  ministering  to  the  wants  of  her  infant, 
she  was  subject  to  punishment, — if  one  of  the 
negroes  rambled  in  the  fields,  he  was  to  be  pun- 
ished,— if  he  got  drunk,  he  had  to  work  four  days 
as  a  punishment;  although,  perchance,  it  might 


AT    BIRMINGHAM.  19 

happen  that  the  planter,  for  the  base  purpose  of 
getting  this  additional  labor,  might  have  made 
him  drunk  for  the  purpose.  (Shame, shame.)  By 
this  base  system  of  giving  to  the  pla'nter  the  fruits 
of  the  delinquencies  of  the  negroes,  every  induce- 
ment was  held  out  to  the  vilest  schemes,  to  entrap 
them  into  the  commission  of  what  was  termed  an 
offence.  Again,  if  the  negro  used  what  was 
termed  insolence,  or  expressed  what  mi<;ht  per- 
haps amount  to  no  more  than  a  genteel  expression 
of  dissatisfaction,  he  was  subject  to  twenty-nine 
lashes.  (Sliame.)  Again,  if  one  of  them  took  a 
sugar-cane,  he  was  liable  to  250  stripes,  or  three 
months'  imprisonment,  and  as  a  wind-up  to  this 
infamous  system,  if  one  of  them  was  found  carry- 
ing a  knife  in  his  pocket  without  the  permission  of 
his  master,  he  was  subject  to  thirty-nine  lashes. 
These  were  some  of  the  laws  under  the  new  sys- 
tem, and  he  would  now  put  it  to  the  meeting  to 
say  whether  or  not  the  people  o^  England  had  not 
been  completely  humbugged  out  of  the  money 
which  they  had  paid.  (Applause.)  Notwithstand- 
ing, however,  all  this,  gentlemen  had  talked  of 
moderation.  He  was  free  to  admit,  because  he 
believed  it  to  be  the  fact,  that  the  Chairmnn  and 
Mr.  Scholefield,  who  had  talked  of  moderation, 
were  influenced  by  a  desire  to  conciliate  all  par- 
ties ;  but  he  unhesitatingly  said,  that  if  those  gen- 
tlemen said  what  they  really  thought  upon  the 
subject,  they  would  not  have  talked  of  moderation. 
It  was  impossible  for  any  man  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  negro  slavery, — who  knew  that  a  sacri- 
fice of  twenty  millions  had  been  paid  to  get  rid  of 
it, — and  who,  after  all,  saw  the  system  carried  on 
with  refined  cruelty,  to  speak  or  think  with  moder- 
ation upon  the  subject.  In  conclusion  he  would 
say,  Why  did  not  the  Government  at  once  exer- 


20  GREAT    MEETING 

cise  their  power,  and  put  an  end  to  the  system? 
Was  it  to  be  endured,  that  a  set  of  villanous 
planters  were  to  receive  twenty  millions  of  British 
money,  and  still  persist  in  inflicting  cruelties, 
which  outraged  every  feeling  of  humanity  ? 
(Cheers.) 

The  Rev.  J.  Riland  briefly  proposed  the  next 
resolution. 

The  Rev.  J.  Burnett  next  presented  himself, 
and  was  received  with  loud  cheers.  He  said  that 
he  fell  pleasure  in  seconding  the  resolution  that 
had  just  been  moved,  and  in  attempting  to  do  so, 
he  ought  in  the  first  place  to  apologise  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Birmingham  for  appearing  before  them  as 
a  stranger,  upon  a  subject  which  has  called  to- 
gether so  much  both  of  the  body  and  mind  of  this 
great  town,  although  that  subject  was  of  such  a 
character  as  must  necessarily  interest  those  who 
were  strangers  to  them  as  well  as  those  who  were 
numbered  among  themselves.  He  had  not,  how- 
ever, appeared  to-night  as  a  volunteer,  for  he  had 
been  requested  to  come  forward  by  the  Society, 
that  had  convened  the  present  meeting.  He 
trusted,  therefore,  to  receive  all  the  kind  indul- 
gence that  this  meeting  would  accord  to  one  of 
its  own  fellow-townsmen,  although  he  had  not  the 
honor  to  rank  amongst  them.  (Cheers.)  Indeed 
from  every  thinfj  which  he  knew  of  Birmingham, 
he  should  at  once  conclude  that  the  mere  circum- 
stance of  seconding  a  resolution  connected  with 
the  rights  of  his  fellow-men  would  be  sufficient 
to  secure  to  him  their  indulgence.  (Hear,  hear.) 
Without  flattering  them,  for  to  flattery  he  had 
ever  been  an  adversary,  he  would  say  that  the 
kindness  of  Birmingham  extended  to  every  thing 


AT    BIRMINGHAM.  21 

but  despotism  and  tyranny,  and  long  might  Bir- 
mingham against  those  combined  powers  of  dark- 
ness, raise  its  manly  voice,  until  the  sun  shall 
cease  to  set  upon  a  slave  or  rise  upon  a  tyrant. 
(Loud  cheers.)  Having  offered  these  reasons  for 
at  all  appearing  upon  this  occasion,  he  felt  dispo- 
sed to  take  their  advice,  and  be  moderate,  but  he 
hoped  they  would  allow  him  to  be  moderate  in 
his  own  way.  (Cheers  and  laughter.)  He  held 
it  to  be  moderation  to  cry  out  when  he  saw  men 
in  possession  of  the  minds  and  bodies  and  souls 
of  their  fellow-creatures — he  held  it  to  be  mode- 
ration to  cry  out  when  he  saw  the  wretched  fe- 
males still  subjected  to  the  lash — he  held  it  to  be 
perfect  moderation  to  cry  out  when  he  discovered 
men  attempting  to  throw  something  like  the  guise 
of  a  political  creed  over  eight  hundred  thousand  of 
his  fellow-men  laboring  under  oppressive  bond- 
age. So  far  from  remaining  silent,  had  he  a 
voice  loud  as  the  Atlantic  wave,  as  it  lashed  those 
islands  so  long  stained  with  blood,  he  ivoxdd  give 
that  voice  its  loudest  emphasis  in  crying  out 
againt  the  abominations  of  slavery.  (Immense 
cheering.)  These  were  his  views  of  moderation  ; 
and  when  he  discovered  gentlemen  sitting  down 
with  all  the  coolness  of  arithmeticians,  calcula- 
ting the  prices  of  men  and  the  value  of  blood  ; — 
looking  to  the  children  rising  into  life,  and  to  the 
aged  moving  towards  the  tomb,  and  exclaiming 
with  the  voice  of  oppression,  these  are  the  men 
to  be  disposed  of,  and  counting  the  number  of 
their  victims  as  they  would  the  bricks  and  stones 
of  the  palaces  in  which  they  dwelt;  (cheers) 
when  he  discovered  this,  and  found  the  result  of 
their  calculations  translated  into  memorials,  and 
submitted  deliberately  and  coldly  to  the  Legisla- 
ture—when he  discovered  this,  he  held  it  to  bo 


oo 


GREAT    MEETING 


moderation  to  denounce  the  cool  and  deliberate 
wickedness  of  such  men.  (Cheers.)  It  might  be 
asked  if  all  those  proceedings  were  really  going 
forward,  whether  they  had  thus  been  carried  on 
in  past  generations,  and  how  it  Avas  that  this  cry- 
ing iniquity  had  been  so  long  winked  at?  There 
was  a  tune,  and  Birmingham  knew  it  well,  when 
with  those  matters  the  nation  had  nothing  to  do 
—  when  men  stood  in  the  high  places  of  honor 
behind  the  throne,  directing  the  machines  of  gov- 
ernment, and  when  the  nation  was  never  consult- 
ed, and  never  knew  any  thing  about  the  matter. 
But  the  British  lion  has  at  length  been  roused — 
he  had  shaken  the  dew-drops  from  his  mane — 
the  people  had  at  length  asserted  their  rights,  and 
now,  should  any  attempt  be  made  to  violate  the 
liberties  of  the  human  race,  he  would  at  once  ac- 
knowledge that  the  nation  were  guilty  of  the 
crime.  (Cheers.)  Now  that  they  could  see,  and 
could  hear  and  could  give  their  opinion  on  what 
was  doing — now  that  the  curtain  had  been  drawn, 
and  that  they  could  approach  the  pavilion  of  the 
Constitution,  should  they  allow  such  injustice  to 
be  perpetrated,  then  indeed  would  they  be  verily 
guilty.  It  was  to  wipe  away  those  stains  that 
would  otherwise  rest  upon  them  that  they  were 
assembled  there  that  night,  for  the  purpose  of 
telling  the  Executive  that  they  were  moderate, but 
that  in  the  West  Indies  there  were  men  so  im- 
moderate that  they  could  bear  with  them  no  lon- 
ger. (Cheers.)  Their  fathers  knew  nothing  of 
the  slave  question,  compared  with  the  present 
generation  ;  but  had  they  been  ever  so  well  in- 
formed upon  the  subject,  and  had  their  voice  been 
heard  in  the  Legislature,  some  whipper-in  would 
have  been  found  to  gather  a  majority  against 
them,  and  the    system    would    have   gone    on. 


AT    BIRMINGHAM.  23 

(Cheers.)  He  would  ask  this  meeting"  in  its  sound 
thinking  as  well  as  sound  feeling,  why  the  Act 
referred  to  that  night  had  been  allowed  to  pass 
into  a  law  ?  The  reason  was  this — the  nation 
was  but  arousing  itself  from  its  slumber — they 
were  taken  unprepared  at  the  moment — they  were 
led  on  by  a  tew,  who  felt  their  weakness,  and 
stood  undecided  and  trembling,  not  knowing  how 
far  a  people  in  these  new  and  embryo  circum- 
stances would  consent  to  support  them.  He  had 
no  doubt  if  the  friends  of  the  Negro  had  felt  the 
advance  of  the  main  body  of  the  people  at  their 
back,  they  never  would  have  accepted  such  an  act 
as  had  been  passed,  nor  would  the  legislature  have 
had  the  temerity  to  propose  it,  and  never  have  at- 
tempted to  pass  it.  (Cheers.)  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, therefore,  the  act  must  be  regarded 
as  a  matter  of  compromise — of  compromise  aris- 
ing out  of  the  timidity  of  one  party,  and  the  cupid- 
ity of  another.  He  did  not  wonder,  therefore, 
tiiat  the  act  had  found  its  way  into  being,  but  he 
was  truly  delighted  to  find  such  an  assembly  had 
come  together  for  the  purpose  of  revoking  it. 
(Cheers.)  Could  there  be  greater  criminals  than 
those  who  persecuted  their  fellow  men  ?  Why 
in  legislating  for  the  slaves  did  they  enter  into 
something  like  a  commercial  bargain,  as  if  they 
hnd  to  do  with  honorable  and  honest  men?  In 
the  West  Indies,  society  was  not  like  that  of  this 
country — there  it  had  risen  out  of  scenes  of  blood 
and  generations  of  bondage — in  blood  it  attained 
its  maturity,  in  blood  it  'moved,  lived,  and  had 
its  being.'  (Loud  cheers.)  It  was  necessary  that 
this  should  have  been  taken  into  account ;  but  the 
question  was,  with  the  framers  of  the  measure, 
whether  they  should  offend  the  planters  by  throw- 
ing surmises  into  the  act  against  them.     Common 


24  GREAT    MEETING 

sense  should  have  told  them  not  to  insult  them, 
but  common  prudence  should  have  taught  them 
enough  of  their  history  to  take  care  of  them. 
(Cheers.)  Taking  this  view  of  the  act,  they  might 
nave  expected  that  it  would  present  something 
calculated  to  benefit  the  Negro.  The  act  had  for 
its  object  the  freedom  of  the  slave,  compensation 
to  the  masters,  and  the  industry  and  good  conduct 
of  the  slaves  for  a  time.  These  were  the  objects 
as  stated  in  the  act;  and  in  dealing  with  such 
men,  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  the  Gov- 
ernment would  have  taken  care  to  prevent  them 
from  abusing  its  provisions — one  half  of  the  act 
was  occupied  about  the  compensation  of  the  plan- 
ters, but  the  same  degree  of  care  was  not  adopted 
to  secure  equal  benefits  to  the  negroes.  Were 
Gentlemen  aware  that  slaves  could  be  sold,  and 
were  actually  sold  at  the  present  moment?  Were 
they  aware  that  they  could  be  handed  over  in 
legacies  like  money  and  cattle  from  one  proprie- 
tor to  another  by  the  act  itself?  This  was,  how- 
ever, the  fact,  for  the  law  still  sanctioned  the 
sale  of  human  beings  in  the  West  India  Colo- 
nies, under  the  name  of  apprentices.  (Cries  of 
'shame,  shame.')  It  was  said  that  the  appren- 
ticeship was  for  the  benefit  of  the  slave,  inasmuch 
as  it  secured  him  employment,  and  it  was  asked 
what  would  become  of  him  if  he  had  not  masters 
on  whom  he  could  depend  ?  The  idea  of  sending 
them  abroad  about  their  business  was  considered 
horrible,  and  it  was  gravely  asked  under  such  cir- 
cumstances what  would  become  of  them  ?  Why, 
they  would  do  precisely  as  the  men  of  Birming- 
ham would  do  if  they  were  sent  about  their  busi- 
ness by  their  employers.  Seek  employment  else- 
where and  procure  it,  leaving  their  masters  to 
starve   upon   the   unwrought  materials.     There 


AT    BIRMINGHAM.  25 

must  be  a  working  population  or  a  starving  one, 
and  it  was  quite  evident  that  the  planters  and 
slave-owners  of  Jamaica  could  not  subsist  with- 
out the  labor  of  the  slave,  no  more  than  the  slave 
could  live  without  the  capital  of  his  employer. 
The  Rev.  Gentleman  here  entered  into  an  analy- 
sis of  the  Act  of  Parliament,  relative  to  its  ope- 
ration on  the  Slaves,  and  clearly  proved  that  it 
was  an  Act  framed  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of  the 
planter,  to  the  injury  of  the  unfortunate  negro, 
whom  it  professed  to  relieve.  The  Rev.  Gentle- 
man next  detailed  in  eloquent  and  affecting  lan- 
guage, the  worthlessnese  of  the  Act,  alluding 
particularly  to  the  cruelties  inflicted  on  the  Slave 
through  the  medium  of  the  Special  Magistracy, 
who,  in  nine  cases  out  often,  were  willing  in- 
struments in  the  hands  of  the  slaveholder.  In 
proof  of  this,  he  read  an  extract  from  the  letter 
of  a  slave-owner  to  one  of  the  Magistrates,  in 
which  he  endeavored  by  every  argument  to  in- 
duce him  to  resort  to  the  most  violent  and  brutal 
measures,  for  the  purpose  of  punishing  some  un- 
happy Slaves,  against  whom  he  had  conceived  a 
dislike,  for  having  neglected  his  orders.  He 
thought,  on  the  whole,  the  conduct  of  the  friends 
of  the  Negro,  in  now  demanding  the  final  aboli- 
tion of  the  system,  was  perfectly  moderate.  They 
had  done  every  thing  in  their  power  to  conciliate 
the  planter,  but  they  had  found  him  incorrigible, 
and  the  British  public  must  never  again  consult 
them  in  reference  to  the  interests  of  the  Slave. 
The  planters  had  said,  they  had  no  right  to  take 
the  Slave  without  paying  them.  The  people  con- 
sented, and  gave  them  an  average  of  nearly  thir- 
ty pounds  a-head,  and  yet  these  fellows  turned 
round  and  said  they  were  robbed,  because  they 
were  not  allowed  to  do  as  they  liked  with  them. 
3 


26  GREAT    MEETING 

He  considered  it  now  the  bounden  duty  of  the 
friends  of  the  Slave  to  unite  as  before,  from  one 
end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other,  and  to  demand 
from  the  Legislature  the  fulfilment  of  the  bar- 
gain which  they  had  entered  into,  and  never  to 
cease  from  their  exertions  until  they  had  effect- 
ed the  full,  complete,  entire,  and  unqualified  eman- 
cipation of  the  Negro.  (Loud  cheers.)  The 
Rev.  Gentleman,  after  a  powerful  speech  of  which 
the  above  is  but  an  outline,  concluded  by  second- 
ing the  resolution. 

The  Rev.  Robert  B.  Hall,  of  Boston,  wag 
here  introduced  to  the  meeting,  as  one  of  the 
original  twelve  who  had  formed  the  first  Abolition 
Society  in  the  United  States.  After  a  few  ob- 
servations, the  Rev.  Gentleman  proceeded  to  say 
that  he  was  an  American.  (Cheers.)  He  was1 
proud  of  his  country,  but  he  had  no  sympathy 
with  her  crimes,  and  least  of  all  that  crime  which 
converted  the  image  of  God  into  a  brute.  He 
was  grieved  to  acknowledge  that  his  own  coun- 
try stood  prominent  in  this  guilt;  and  in  making 
this  acknowledgment  he  did  not  love  America 
less,  but  he  loved  the  cause  of  liberty  still  more. 
(Cheers.)  He  could  not  but  recollect  there  were 
that  night  two  millions  of  his  fellow-citizens 
groaning  in  bondage,  who  expected  him  as  a  con- 
sistent American,  to  be  their  advocate.  He  should 
now  go  into  som?  facts  interesting  to  the  audience 
before  him,  in  reference  to  the  state  of  slavery  in 
America.  The  Rev.  Gentleman  here  entered 
into  the  history  of  Anti-Slavery  Societies,  which 
commenced  immediately  after  the  declaration  of 
American  Independence,  and  had  since  continued 
to  increase  in  numbers  and  in  influence.  He 
gave  a  melancholy  picture   of  the  enormities  at 


AT    BIRMINGHAM.  "Z  i 

present  perpetrating  in  that  country,  the  particu- 
lars of  which  have  already  appeared  in  the  public 
prints.  He  came  before  them  as  the  advocate  of 
the  American  Slaves,  and  he  trusted  that  the  ex- 
ample now  set  by  England  would  operate  upon 
America,  and  at  last  compel  them  to  the  adoption 
of  a  full  and  complete  measure  of  emancipation. 
If  England  would  but  do  its  duty,  slavery  would 
soon  cease  to  exist.  [We  regret  that  our  limits 
preclude  the  possibility  of  giving  more  than  a 
faint  outline  of  the  Rev.  Gentleman's  speech, 
which  was  received  with  marked  approbation 
throughout.] 

The  Rev.  J.  Scoble,  Secretary  to  tlie  London 
Anti-Slavery  Society,  in  an  animated  speech, 
spoke  to  the  resolution  ;  and  in  doing  so  referred 
to  the  history  of  Slavery  in  the  Colonies.  He 
took  a  rapid  view  of  the  measures  brought  for- 
ward by  Government,  and  deprecated  in  strong 
terms  the  trickery  resorted  to  by  Lord  Stanley, 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  enormous  sum  of 
money  of  the  disposal  of  which  they  had  that 
evening  heard  so  much  just  complaint.  The 
Rev.  Gentleman  concluded  by  drawing  an  affect- 
ing picture  of  the  present  wretched  state  of  the 
Negroes  in  the  West  Indies,  from  which  it  ap- 
peared that  their  condition  was  in  many  respects 
worse  than  under  the  old  system. 

The  Rev.  T.  Swan,  in  seconding  the  resolu- 
tion, said  that,  on  this  question  there  could  not 
be  a  dissentient  voice.  All  who  were  in  the  least 
degree  acquainted  with  the  subject  must  be  of 
one  mind,  and  make  known  to  the  friends  of  the 
Negro  throughout  the  empire  the  dark  and  affect- 
ing circumstances  of  the  case.     Blessed  be  God, 


28  GREAT    MEETING 

in  their  highly  favored  country  the  friends  of  the 
Negro  were  to  be  found.  Britons  were  anxious 
that  Slaves  might  cease  to  breathe  in  any  part  of 
the  world  ;  they  ivere  unacquainted  with  an  aris- 
tocracy consisting  merely  in  the  color  of  the  skin, 

AND  THEY  DESPISED  THAT  CANTING  AND  DAS- 
TARDLY REPUBLIC  ON  THE    OTHER    SIDE     OF    THE 

Atlantic,  which  boasted  its  love  of  liberty,  and 
respect  for  the  rights  of  man,  whilst  at  the  same 
time  it  held  in  the  most  degrading  bondage,  and 
shut  out  from  celestial  knowledge,  from  two  to 
three  millions  of  its  subjects.  (Loud  cheers.)  In 
reference  to  the  new  system  of  Slavery  in  their 
own  Colonies,  he  would  say — what  a  delusion ! 
How  mortifying  !  how  miserably  had  they  been 
disappointed — how  completely  had  the  benevo- 
lent designs  of  the  humane  been  thwarted  on  that 
day,  when  the  slaves  were  brought  under  the  ha- 
ted Stanley  scheme  of  Apprenticeship — (loud 
cheers) — a  system  which  had  proved  to  be  worse 
than  Slavery,  more  vile  than  slavery ; — a  system 
of  the  most  refined  cruelty.  Such  was  his  opinion 
of  the  system,  that  he  believed  Satan  himself  must 
have  been  at  the  right  hand  of  the  man  when  the 
infernal  plan  presented  itself  to  his  disordered  im- 
agination. (Cheers.)  The  horrid  facts  in  the 
case  must  be  blazoned  forth  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land — facts  which  required 
only  to  be  known  to  call  forth  general  indigna- 
tion. He  concluded  by  expressing  his  conviction, 
that  the  Christians  of  Birmingham  would  not  be 
silent — they  would  speak  out — they  would  cry 
aloud,  and  their  voice  would  be  heard  in  the  Sen- 
ate;  it  would  enter  the  ears,  and  he  trusted,  would 
move  the  heart  of  their  King  ;  it  would  go  out  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth;  it  would  be  heard  in  the 
islands  of  the  West ;  it  would  cause   the  slaves 


AT    BIRMINGHAM.  29 

to  rejoice,  the  missionaries  to  triumph,  and  the 
tyrants  to  tremble — (cheers) — it  would  be  heard  in 
slave-cursed  America,  and  the  painted  hypo- 
crites would  quail,  and  be  convinced  that  they  re- 
quired a  revival  indeed.  (Cheers.)  To  the  men 
of  Birmingham,  as  the  principal  agitators,  Britain 
was  indebted  for  the  Reform  Bill,  and  would  they 
be  silent  so  long  as  Slavery  continued  in  any  part 
of  the  world.  No!  the  thunders  of  their  united 
voices,  raised  in  indignation,  would  roll  onward 
till  the  slaves  were  freed  from  the  galling  yoke 
of  an  unnatural  despotism.  [The  Rev.  Gentle- 
man concluded  amidst  loud  applause.] 

The  Rev.  J.  A.  James  next  presented  himself 
to  the  meeting,  and  was  received  with  enthusias- 
tic cheers.  He  said  that  the  resolution  which 
had  been  moved  by  Mr.  Swan,  and  which  he  was 
requested  to  second,  arose  by  natural  and  neces- 
sary consequence  out  of  that  which  preceded  it, 
for  if  it  were  indeed  a  fact,  which  abundant  evi- 
dence from  various  and  independent  sources  prov- 
ed that  it  was,  that  the  Apprenticeship  Act,  in- 
stead of  being  a  measure  of  relief  to  the  Negro, 
had  been  used  as  an  instrument  of  cruelty  ;  if 
the  stipendiary  Magistrates  sent  out  to  be  the  ex- 
positors and  defenders  of  his  rights  had  become 
his  oppressors  ;  if  females  were  still  exposed  and 
flogged,  and  the  men  suffered  corporeal  punish- 
ment contrary  to  law ;  if  the  Colonial  Legisla- 
tors were  pertinacious  in  resisting  all  the  benefi- 
cial operations  of  the  Imperial  Act,  and  discover- 
ed a  perverse  ingenuity  in  thwarting  all  the  be- 
nevolent intentions  of  the  mother  country — then 
what  remained  for  that  meeting  to  do,  but  to  be 
satisfied  no  longer  with  remedial  palliatives  and 
half  measures,  but  to  go  back  at  once  to  the  po- 
3* 


30  GREAT    MEETING 

sition  they  formerly  occupied,  from  which  they 
had  been  lured  in  an  evil  day,  and  demand  for  the 
Negroes,  immediate,  complete,  and  unconditional 
emancipation.  (Cheers.)  He  was  quite  aware 
that  it  was  a  bold,  decisive,  and  to  many  doubt- 
less, a  startling  requirement,  to  ask  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  an  Act,  which  had  cost  this  country  twen- 
ty million  sterling,  which  had  so  recently  been 
passed  with  all  the  most  impressive  formalities  of 
a  British  Legislature,  which  had  been  considered 
the  great  charter  of  Negro  liberty,  and  a  mighty 
achievement  of  English  benevolence.  (Cheers.) 
But,  he  teas  bold  enough  to  ask  for  this  bold  mea- 
sure, and  he  wished  the  meeting  distinctly  to  un- 
derstand, that  this  was  the  object  of  the  resolu- 
tion now  waiting  its  adoption.  He  was  quite  a- 
ware  that  he  should  be  met  with  the  objection 
that  such  a  measure  would  be  a  direct  breach  of 
national  faith,  for  so  indeed  it  was  viewed  by 
some.  He  would  be  one  of  the  last  men  to  ad- 
vise the  attempt  to  do  away  with  the  Act,  if  such 
a  step  involved  any  compromise  of  principle,  or 
brought  any  stain  upon  our  national  honor. 
(Cheers.)  It  is  true  when  he  first  read  the  plan 
of  Lord  Stanley,  he  threw  it  down  with  indigna- 
tion and  exclaimed,  rather  than  accept  so  partial 
a  measure,  he  would  fight  the  whole  battle  over 
again.  (Cheers.)  But  still,  had  the  Colonists 
faithfully  and  with  good  intention  fulfilled  their 
part  of  the  contract,  he  would  never  have  asked 
for  its  being  set  aside,  but  would  have  quietly 
waited  for  the  expiration  of  its  term.  But  when 
instead  of  this,  they  received  it  in  the  first  in- 
stance with  the  surly  growl  of  disappointed  tyran- 
ny, and  since  then  they  had  extracted  much  of  the 
little  honey  it  contained,  and  envenomed  its  poison; 
since  they  had  employed  all  the  subtleties  of  law 


AT    BIRMINGHAM.  31 

and  all  the  chicanery  of  legislation  to  nullify  its 
beneficial  provisions,  since  she  had  passed  acts 
contrary  to  its  spirit  and  design,  he  felt  no  deli- 
cacy in  going'  up  to  the  Legislature,  and  asking 
them  to  tear  it  in  pieces,  and  scatter  it  to  the  winds 
of  heaven.  Faith  had  been  broken,  notoriously, 
publicly  and  shamelessly  broken  ;  but  by  whom? 
By  the  Colonists.  The  apprenticeship  Act  hid 
failed  in  its  object,  and  ought  to  he  repealed.  For 
what  was  that  object  ?  let  it  be  loudly  repeated, 
and  emphatically  declared,  that  this  object  was 
not  to  pay  twenty  millions  to  the  planters.  This, 
it  is  true,  was  one  of  its  provisions  and  enact- 
ments, but  not  the  main  object  of  the  bill  ;  but  its 
great  design  was,  to  give  a  measure  of  substan- 
tial freedom  to  the  Negro,  and  to  impose  no  more 
restrictions  than  were  necessary  to  carry  it  into 
safe  and  easy  operation.  This  then  had  signally 
failed,  and  the  delusive  statute  ought  to  be  imme- 
diately annulled.  He  congratulated  his  fellow- 
townsmen  on  the  honor,  of  which  they  may  be  al- 
most proud,  of  being  the  first  town  in  the  empire 
that  had  raised  its  public  and  indignant  voice  a- 
gainst  the  present  state  of  our  Negro  fellow-sub- 
jects ;  they  had  given  the  key-note  to  that  chorus, 
loud  and  deep,  of  sympathy  for  the  Negroes,  and 
resentment  against  their  oppressors,  which  was 
about  to  be  raised,  he  hoped,  through  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land.  Let  them  go  on  to  take 
an  interest  in  this  cause.  They  had  liberty,  they 
enjoyed  it,  and  would  suffer  no  man  to  take  it 
from  them. 

Captain  C.  R.  Moorsom,  R.  N.  said,  that  after 
the  statements  which  had  been  submitted  to  them 
that  evening,  of  the  effects  which  had  resulted 
from  the  Apprenticeship  Scheme,  he  could  not 


32  GREAT    MEETING. 

refrain  from  saying  a  word  or  two  upon  the  sub- 
ject. The  good-natured  Lord  Althorpe  had  as- 
sured them  that  whenever  the  measure  was 
brought  forward,  it  should  be  a  useful  and  satis- 
factory one.  And  was  it  so  ?  (Cries  of  No,  No.) 
He  was  happy  to  perceive,  however,  the  deter- 
mination manifested  by  the  meeting  to  persevere 
until  the  system  was  totally  abolished.  He  trust- 
ed, when  the  gentleman  who  had  given  the  no- 
tice of  a  motion  on  the  subject  in  the  ensuing 
Parliament,  brought  the  question  again  before 
his  country,  that  he  would  be  backed  by  the  mor- 
al sense  and  moral  power  of  the  people  ;  and 
should  he  encounter  that  subtle  enemy  of  the  col- 
ored race, — that  apostate  Whig, — that  recreant  to 
liberty, — Stanley  ; — hand  to  liand,  foot  to  foot, 
with  an  unflinching  mind,  and  unfluttering  heart, 
he  shall  there  meet  him  and  convince  him  that  it 
is  as  futile  as  dishonorable,  to  attempt  to  stop  the 
progress  of  negro  emancipation.  (Cheers.)  While 
he  felt  fully  confident  of  the  triumphs  of  justice 
and  of  mercy,  he  also  felt  assured  that  every  con- 
trivance would  be  had  recourse  to  by  the  planters 
to  weave  round  the  negro  the  meshes  of  slavery  ; 
and  would  he  not  have  the  power  to  do  so,  as  no 
doubt  he  would  have  the  will  ?  (Cheers.)  Capt. 
Moorsom  concluded  by  moving  the  fourth  resolu- 
tion. 

The  meeting  occupied  from  six  in  the  evening 
until  ten,  and  during  the  whole  time  the  utmost 
interest  was  manifested  by  the  immense  assem- 
bly. 


SOIREE. 


Monday,  a  Soiree  was  held  in  the  Monteith 
Rooms,  Buchanan  street,  in  honor  of  Mr.  George 
Thompson,  the  enlightened  and  uncompromising 
advocate  of  Negro  Emancipation.  At  seven 
o'clock,  the  large  and  splendid  hall  was  crowded 
with  a  brilliant  assembly,  awaiting  in  anxious  ex- 
pectation the  illustrious  individual  whom  they 
were  met  to  honor.  Shortly  after  the  hour,  he 
entered  the  room,  accompanied  by  several  mem- 
bers of  the  Glasgow  Emancipation  committee  and 
their  friends,  among  whom  were  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Kidston,  Rev.  Messrs.  Anderson,  King,  and  P. 
Brewster,  of  Paisley  ;  Messrs.  James  Johnston, 
R.  Kettle,  &.c.  &c.  The  reception  of  Mr.  George 
Thompson  was  beyond  description,  and  forcibly 
exhibited  how  highly  the  assembly  appreciated 
the  valuable  services  he  had  rendered  to  the  glo- 
rious cause  of  emancipation.  The  applause  hav- 
ing subsidpd,  it  was  moved  that  on  account  of  the 
absence  of  Dr.  Wardlaw,  W.  P.  Paton,  Esq.  should 
take  the  chair,  and  the  motion  having  been  carried 
by  acclamation, 


34  eoiitRE. 

The  Chairman"  said  he  was  exceedingly  sorry 
that  Dr.  Wardlaw  had  been  prevented  by  domes- 
tic affliction  from  presiding  among  them,  as  had 
been  intimated.  He  regretted  the  absence  of  an 
active  and  zealous  friend  of  the  cause,  which  they 
were  met  to  honor,  in  the  person  of  one  of  its 
most  distinguished  advocates,  because  he  would 
have  filled  so  much  better  the  honorable  office  to 
which  they  had  appointed  him.  For  himself  if  he 
might  lay  claim  in  any  degree  to  the  honor,  it 
was  from  his  having  long  been  the  advocate  of 
freedom — universal  freedom.  (Cheers.)  And  if 
any  thing  could  encourage  him  to  undertake  the 
duties  of  the  office  it  would  be  to  see,  on  looking 
round  him,  so  many  countenances  in  which  be 
could  read  that  their  sympathies  were  united  in 
the  same  holy  cause. 

The  Rev.  Wm.  Aitds&sof,  in  rising  to  move  the 
first  resolution,  was  received  with  loud  cheering. 
He  spoke  nearly  as  follows.  When  our  excellent 
guest  first  appeared  among  us,  it  was  with  a  warm 
heart;  he  came  to  hearts  as  warm — warm  with 
sympathy  for  the  afflicted  Negro,  and  warm  with 
zeal  for  the  breaking  of  his  bonds.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances, one  meeting  was  enough  to  unite  us, 
one  stroke  was  enough  to  weld  the  glowing  ma- 
terials into  an  indissoluble  brotherhood.  The 
sentiments  of  friendship  we  have  conceived  for 
him,  are,  no  doubt,  to  be  ascribed  chiefly  to  that 
community  of  sympathy  to  which  I  have  just  ad- 
verted. But  I  feel  I  would  be  doing  injustice  to 
Mr.  T.,  were  I  to  ascribo  it  entirely  to  that  cause. 
His  personal,  individual,  qualifications  have,  un- 
doubtedly, had  great  influence  in  the  matter.  I 
refer  not  to  his  intellectual  qualifications.     Such 


SOIREE.  35 

gifts,  unless  connected  with  moral  qualities,  make 
no  conquest  of  the  heart.  What,  then,  is  the  case 
of  our  friend  in  this  respect?  He  came  among 
us  with  powers  of  discussion,  powers  of  debate, 
powers  of  analyzing  evidence,  powers  of  classify- 
ing evidence,  powers  of  exposing  it,  powers  of 
confirming  it,  powers  ot  reasoning,  powers  of  de- 
clamation, powers  of  humor  to  make  us  laugh, 
powers  of  pathos  to  make  us  weep,  powers  of  fire 
to  stir  us  up  to  vengeance,  powers  as  varied  as 
those  of  the  lyre  of  Timotheus,  and  of  greater 
strength — (enthusiastic  cheers.)  Such  powers, 
that  we  all  at  once  gave  way,  and  put  him  in  the 
first  place,  that  of  the  elder  brother  of  our  Eman- 
cipation family — the  Captain  of  our  great  moral 
enterprise.  (Renewed  cheering.)  And  how  did 
he  bear  himself  under  these  honors?  Did  his 
morality  break  down?  Did  any  of  us  ever  see 
any  symptom  of  self-conceit  in  him,  or  of  nurtured 
vanity  ?  Did  any  of  us  ever  feel  he  had  cause 
for  complaining  of  his  presuming  over  him? 
Never.  We  have  indeed  seen  his  eye,  that  which 
his  Maker  gave  him  to  be  used  for  holy  purposes, 
gathering  fire  and  sparkling  with  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  power  of  the  thunderbolt  which  he  was 
forging  within  his  bosom  for  the  destruction  of 
his  adversary;  but  when  he  had  launched  it, 
and  scathed  him,  and  prostrated  him,  could  we 
gather  from  any  expression  either  of  word  or  look, 
that  he  took  personal  consequence  to  himself  for 
what  he  had  done  ?  (Cheers.)  No,  all  the  expres- 
sion was,  the  Slave  has  done  this  for  you,  Sir ;  but 
for  him  I  would  not  injure  a  feeling  of  your  heart. 
It  is  this  destitution  of  personal  vanity,  I  am  con- 
vinced, in  very'  trying  circumstances,  which  has 
won  for  our  friend  the  peculiarly  tender  endear- 
ment with  which  we  all  regard  him.     The  time 


36  SOIREE. 

came,  when  the  battle  having  been  fought  for  the 
Negroes  of  our  own  Colonies,  that  spirit  which 
first  carried  us  into  the  field,  and  which  acquired 
strength  during  the  conflict,  sought  for  other  ad- 
ventures of  benevolence.  It  is  a  spirit  which  will 
not  be  at  rest,  so  long  as  there  is  a  slave  on  the 
earth.  (Cheers.)  Our  attention  was  turned  to 
America,  and  dearly  as  we  loved  Mr.  Thompson, 
and  perilous  although  the  adventure  was, we  grudg- 
ed him  not  to  the  oppressed  of  that  land.  It  appear- 
ed perilous  from  the  beginning.  In  these  perilous 
circumstances  we  sent  forth  our  friend  ;  and  now 
that  he  is  with  us  again  in  health  and  life,  let  us 
bless  God  for  his  preservation.  What  has  he  ac- 
complished ?  We  expect  much.  We  had  had 
experience  of  his  talents,  his  zeal,  his  fortitude, 
and  of  his  prudence  too.  For,  notwithstanding 
the  ardor  of  his  mind,  and  the  provoking  circum- 
stances in  which  he  managed  our  own  cause,  who 
ever  heard  an  ungentlemanly  expression  drop 
from  his  lips  ?  High  as  our  confidence  was  in 
him,  he  has  labored  to  an  extent  far  beyond  ouf 
calculation  ;  and  far  beyond  our  calculation  has 
been  his  success.  He  has  kindled  a  flame  in 
America,  it  is  said,  which  will  not  be  extinguished. 
This  is  not  the  correct  representation.  He  has 
gone  with  the  torch  of  liberty  throughout  its  for^ 
ests,  kindling  it  at  a  thousand  points,  and  soon  it 
will  be  a  universal  conflagration.  According, 
then,  to  the  motion  which  I  am  about  to  make,  let 
us  unite  in  blessing  God  for  our  friend's  achieve- 
ments, and  that,  through  perils  he  is  among  us  to 
be  employed  as  God,  and  we  under  God,  may 
afterwards  see  fit  to  determine.  (General  cheer- 
ing, which  lasted  for  some  time.) 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Patrick  Le- 
them,  and  agreed  to  by  enthusiastic  acclamation. 


SOIREE.  37 

Mr.  Thompson,  on  rising,  was  greeted  with  the 
most  enthusiastic  applause,  which  was  renewed 
again  and  again.  On  its  subsiding,  lie  observed 
that  he  well  recollected  the  feelings  which,  on  a 
similar  occasion  to  the  present,  about  two  years 
ago,  had  embarrassed  and  well  nigh  overpowered 
him,  nor  were  his  emotions  on  the  present  occa- 
sion less  calculated  to  embarrass  and  paralyse. 
You  have  been  listening  with  delight,  continued 
Mr.  T.,  to  the  extraordinary  eloquence  of  my 
friend — if  there  be  anything  by  winch  I  am  more 
affected  than  another — if  there  be  any  sounds  that 
fall  on  mortal  ears,  which  thrill  my  mind  more 
than  others,  they  are  the  sounds  of  eloquence,  and 
such  eloquence  as  that  to  which  we  have  now 
been  listening.  But  in  proportion  to  the  delight 
with  which,  under  other  circumstances,  I  should 
have  listened  to  my  friend,  has  been  my  distress 
on  this  occasion.  His  eloquence  has  been  devot- 
ed to  the  multiplication  and  to  the  magnifying  of 
my  merits  and  my  abilities.  His  splendid  tribute 
I  know  not  how  to  acknowledge,  because,  in  sin- 
cerity, I  renounce  all  claim  to  the  panegyric  ;  but 
while  I  renounce  all  claim  to  the  praise  our  friend 
has  bestowed  on  me,  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  f 
am  insensible  to  the  kindness  and  to  the  confi- 
dence in  me  that  has  prompted  it.  There  is  only 
one  thing  which,  next  to  the  approbation  of  my 
conscience,  and  the  approbation  of  my  God,  I 
prize  above  your  approbation,  and  that  is  what  I 
believe  I  have  obtained — the  blessing  of  the  per- 
ishing. (Applause.)  O,  Sirs,  if  there  is  one  thing 
which  has  rewarded  me  more  than  another,  more 
even  than  your  smiles  and  your  repeated  assur- 
ces  of  support,  sent  to  me  across  the  Atlantic,  by 
those  who  have  so  steadfastly,  so  zealously,  so 
undeviatingly  managed  the  affairs  of  this  Society, 
4 


3S  SOIREE. 

it  has  been  when  traversing  the  streets  of  Boston, 
and  New- York,  and  Philadelphia,  to  meet  the 
black  man  with  the  tear  of  gratitude  standing  in 
his  eye — to  see  and  to  feel  that  I  had  his  blessing 
out  of  a  full  heart.  I  do  not  say  more  than  what 
I  feel  when  I  say  I  would  rather  have  the  blessing 
of  the  outcast,  the  perishing,  the  persecuted  negro 
of  America,  than  to  walk  o'er  rose-strewed  paths, 
under  triumphal  arches,  with  the  oppressor  of  the 
black  man,  crying  Hosanna,  Hosanna,in  the  high- 
est. (Great  applause.)  That  reward  was  what  I 
sought,  and  I  hope  I  did  not  do  it  even  for  that. 
I  trust  that  in  all  my  labors  in  America  I  have 
gone  upon  the  principle  upon  which  all  here  act 
when  they  do  act,  viz:  because  they  are  obliged 
to  do  it — obliged  by  their  consciences,  by  a  con- 
straint which  is  far  higher  and  stronger,  even  by 
that  great  principle  to  which  the  apostle  refers 
when  he  says,  'The  love  of  Christ  constraineth 
us,  because  we  thus  judge,' &c.  (Applause.)  Our 
friend  has  well  said  that  the  Mission  was  a  peril- 
ous one.  It  was  a  perilous  one,  and  you,  at  this 
moment,  I  believe,  have  no  just  conception  of  the 
perils  to  which  all  the  friends  of  Abolition  are 
called  to  pass  through.  They  have  not  alone  to 
sacrifice  reputation,  and  honor,  and  fame,  for  they 
who  have  been  at  the  very  pinnacle  of  popularity 
suddenly  fall  into  the  depth  of  infamy;  but  they 
have  to  face  positive  dangers,  and  the  malice  and 
false  accusations  of  all  the  prejudiced  and  inter- 
ested. I  was  particularly  marked  out  for  their 
attacks  because  I  was  a  foreigner,  because  I  had 
come  from  a  distant  shore.  In  vain  did  I  appeal 
to  their  splendid  Missionary  enterprises  so  deeply 
fixed  on  the  affections  of  the  American  citizens. 
In  vain  did  I  point  them  to  those  who  were  en- 
deavoring to  stop  the  rolling  car,  and  quench  the 


SOIREE.  39 

funeral  pile,  and  make  the  resplendent  glories  of 
the  cross  eclipse  the  crescent  of  Mahomet.  (Rap- 
turous applause.)  They  contended  that  I  was  a 
foreigner,  attacking  their  political  institutions,  and 
they  sought  to  banish  me  as  a  traitor  and  an  in- 
cendiary. Yet,  remembering  what  I  had  promised 
to  you,  and  to  my  God,  and  to  his  suffering  child- 
ren, I  went  forward.  (Cheers.)  Our  friend  has 
said,  it  has  been  a  successful  mission.  Thank 
God  it  has  been  so.  This  night  I  call  upon  you 
devoutly  to  render  thanks  to  him  who  has  honor- 
ed our  efforts  with  so  much  success,  and  who  has 
blessed  the  humble  endeavors  of  the  humble  indi- 
vidual whom  you  now  honor.  I  keep  within  the 
bounds  when  I  say  that  my  mission  has  far  trans- 
cended my  most  sanguine  expectations. 

When  I  last  parted  from  you  I  expected  to  be 
absent  for  a  period  of  three  years,  but  during  the 
one  year  I  have  spent  in  America,  much  more 
has  been  effected  than  I  believed  would  have 
been  done  at  the  end  of  three  years — (loud  cheers.) 
The  whole  country  is  aroused — every  newspaper 
is  discussing  the  subject — many  of  them  ably  and 
fearlessly  taking  the  right  side  of  the  question. 
I  may  mention  one,  the  New- York  Evening  Post, 
one  of  the  ablest  supporters  of  the  existing  ad- 
ministration. The  whole  population  is  roused  ; 
every  class,  every  condition,  upon  that  wide 
spread  territory  are  discussing  the  question — 
(cheers.)  I  did  not  think  to  see  at  the  end  of 
one  year  upwards  of  three  hundred  Anti-Slavery 
Societies,  all  energetic,  composed  of  men  and 
women  devoted  beyond  the  powers  of  any  lan- 
guage I  can  employ  to  describe.  I  did  not  ex- 
pect so  soon  to  see  the  servants  of  God  of  all 
denominations  rising  and  putting  on  the  harness 
in  this  sacred  cause  ;  I  did  not  expect,  Sir,  to  see 


40 


christian  America,  at  the  end  of  one  year,  already 
in  the  attitude  of  Sampson  feeling  for  the  pillars 
of  the  temple,  that,  lilting  it  from  its  foundation, 
it  might  tumble  for  ever  to  the  earth.  (Vehement 
cheering.)  And  yet  that  is  the  attitude  of  America 
at  this  moment,nor  will  it  be  long  ere  this  Sampson 
grasps  the  columns  of  this  blood-stained  fabric. 
(Continued  cheering.)  The  other  evening  when 
I  was  speaking  of  what  the  Methodists,  and  Pres- 
byterians, and  Baptists,  and  Congregationalists 
were  doing,  and  what  the  Unitarians  were  going 
to  do,  I  did  not  recollect  to  say  that  those  minis- 
ters of  different  denominations  who  have  been 
brought  over,  were  once  prejudiced  as  strongly 
as  were  those  whose  documents  I  read  to  you, 
and  the  reading  of  which  caused,  I  doubt  not, 
your  very  flesh  to  creep.  To  corroborate  this 
sentiment.  Mr.  Thompson  read  one  or  two  ex- 
tracts from  a  letter  which  he  had  received  from  a 
respected  minister  in  Boston,  in  which  he  solemn- 
ly renounced  his  former  prejudices  against  the 
colored  population,  and  pledged  himself  hence- 
forward to  engage  heart  and  hand  in  the  great 
question  of  immediate  emancipation.  Mr.  T. 
then  concluded  his  eloquent  speech,  which  was 
listened  to  throughout  with  the  most  intense  in- 
terest, with  the  following  well  merited  tribute  of 
respect  to  Dr.  Wardlaw  and  other  zealous  labor- 
ers in  the  same  noble  cause.  I  must,  however, 
before  I  sit  down  be  allowed  to  express  my  un- 
feigned regret  that  a  domestic  calamity  should 
prevent  us  from  having  amongst  us  to-night  our 
beloved  friend  Dr.  Wardlaw,  who  has  stood  by 
this  cause  through  evil  and  through  good  report, 
and  who,  though  calumniated,  defamed,  traduced, 
has  meekly,  yet  boldly,  unostentatiously,  yet  un- 
flinchingly, advocated  this  cause.     Oh,  Sir,  let  us 


SOIREE.  41 

prize  such  men,  let  us  love  them,  let  us  remem- 
ber that  the  great  and  the  good  are  on  our  side, 
that  the  greatest  and  the  best  are  with  us,  that 
the  Wardlaws  and  the  Heughs,  and  the  Ander- 
sons, and  the  Brewsters,  and  the  Kidstons,  and 
the  Kings,  are  on  our  side.  You  will  remember, 
when  I  referred,  at  that  tremendous  meeting  in 
another  place,  to  the  striking  contrast  between 
the  supporters  of  him  who  has  been  endeavoring 
to  accomplish  your  wishes  in  a  distant  land,  and 
the  supporters  of  another  gentleman  who  has  now 
the  cabalistic  initials  of  M.  P.,  appended  to  his 
name.  (Great  laughter.)  Then,  I  could  stand 
forth  and  say,  '  I  am  supported  by  those  whom 
God  supports,'  and  I  am  still  so  supported.  I  do 
not  think  I  have  lost  a  friend  in  Glasgow.  I  can 
only  say  I  have  done  nothing  to  deserve  to  lose 
one  ;  and  if  I  have  offended  by  being  too  faith- 
ful, I  would  still  be  faithful,  and  if  I  saw  my 
friends  on  earth  dropping  off  like  leaves  in  au- 
tumn, and  1  had  no  one  to  support  me,  I  would 
still  stand  upon  the  rock  of  truth  and  confide  in 
the  God  of  truth.  I  know,  however,  you  are  still 
with  me,  you  still  richly  reward  me,  and  I  believe 
you  will  continue  to  labor  along  with  me  till  not 
only  the  Antilles  shall  be  free,  but  until  thf  South- 
ern States  of  America  shall  be  free,  and  all  the 
other  Slave-cursed  districts  of  the  world  shall  be 
free,  until  there  shall  not  be  on  the  circumference 
of  the  globe,  one  man  yielding  to  the  ruthless 
hand  of  a  despot,  an  unwilling  and  sorrowful  la- 
bor.    (Loud  and  long  continued  cheering.) 

Mr.  Jas.  Johnston  rose  for  the  purpose  of 
reading  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Ladies  of  Great 
Britain,  bv  the  Ladies  Anti-Slavery  Associations 
of  New-England,  signed  by  the  accomplished, 
pious,  and  heroic  President  and  Secretary,  who 
4* 


42  SOIREE. 

so  admirably  conducted  their  meeting,  when  sur- 
rounded by  the  gentlemen  savages  of  Boston. 
The  letter  was  addressed  to  the  Ladies,  but  he 
did  not  think  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  the 
gentlemen  present  to  shut  their  ears  while  he 
read  it.  It  contained  nothing  which  would  be 
likely  to  make  them  esteem  the  fair  sex  less. 


To  the  Women  of  Great  Britain. 

Dear  Friends, 

We  write  to  you  from  the  heat  of  a  commotion,  un- 
paralleled in  our  remembrance,  and  the  scene  we  wit- 
ness, and  wish  we  could  find  adequate  words  to  de- 
scribe, is  one  of  awful  sublimity. 

But  how  can  we  embody  so  vast  a  subject  in  so 
slight  a  sketch  as  time  permits  ?  How  can  we  in  a 
few  words  picture  to  your  minds  the  awakening  of  a 
nation  from  a  dream  of  Peace,  and  Freedom, and  Glory, 
to  a  reality  of  Strife,  and  Slavery,  and  Dishonor  ? 

Here  are  tbe  noble  few,  half-spent,  yet  strong  in 
heart,  struggling  to  stay  the  headlong  descent  of  the 
many.  Here  are  the  frantic  many  rushing  down  to 
the  abyss,  with  eyes  yet  closed,  and  brains  yet  tinder 
the  influence  of  their  feverish  dream.  Here  are  the 
miscalled  wise  and  prudent,  the  mistaken,  benevolent 
and  compassionate,  the  imbecile  and  office-seeking 
Statesman,  the  time-serving  and  timid  Clergy — the 
Wealthy,  the  Fashionable,  the  Literary,  the  blind- 
leaders  of  the  blind,  the  self-styled  religious,  all  join- 
ing to  heap  opprobrium  and  persecution  upon  those 
who  would  fain  save  them  from  the  swift-walking  de- 
struction that  threatens  our  noon-day. 

Foremost  among  this  band  of  steadfast  hearted 
stands  George  Thompson.  We  fervently  thank  God 
who  put  it  into  the  mind  of  Great  Britain  to  send  him 
to  our  aid.  His  piety  and  eloquence,  his  incorrupti- 
ble integrity,  his  devoted  self-sacrifice,  his  unrivalled 
talents,  have  given  a  wonderful  impulse  to  the  cause. 


SOIREE.  43 

In  proportion  to  his  usefulness  has  the  cry  been  rais- 
ed that  he  should  ■  depart  out  of  our  coasts.'  Now 
that  his  lire  is  in  danger  from  the  assassin  every  mo- 
ment that  he  remains  in  this  country,  we,  too,  think 
it  is  time  that  he  should  depart.  What  a  revelation 
has  the  past  year  flashed  upon  our  minds. 

Slavery  has  infected  the  life-blood  and  inflamed  the 
heart  of  the  nation.  It  is  a  literal  fact  that  never  a- 
mong  the  bloodiest  race  of  the  most  persecuting  age, 
was  concealment  more  necessary  to  preserve  the  life 
of  a  defender  of  unpopular  truth.  Such  a  one  has 
not  merely  assassination  to  apprehend — he  holds  his 
life  and  property  at  the  mercy  of  a  mob  of  those  who 
call  themselves  the  •  wealth  and  standing,  the  influ- 
ence and  respectability  of  the  country,'  who  are  striv- 
ing to  establish  an  aristocratic  order  of  things,  without 
those  adjuncts  and  circumstances  which  in  Europe 
seem  to  justify  such  an  order.  Scenes  of  outrage 
have  become  so  common  as  to  follow  regularly  upon 
the  expression  of  our  opinions.  The  spirit  of  north- 
ern Liberty  is  commanded  to  yield  to  the  spirit  of 
southern  Slavery,  and  we  are  made  to  feel  in  our  own 
persons  that  the  violation  of  the  rights  of  the  black 
man  has  made  the  rights  of  the  white  man  insecure. 
So  simple  a  matter  as  the  annual  meeting  of  our  so- 
ciety, caused  the  representatives  of  the  slave  interest 
in  this  city  to  rush  to  the  spot  in  numbers,  not  less 
than  4  or  5,000,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  putting  a 
stop  to  the  meeting,  by  taking  the  life  of  Mr.  Thomp- 
son, who  they  conjectured  was  to  address  us.  Not 
finding  him,  they  seized  Mr.  Garrison,  and  his  life 
was  hardly  saved  by  the  most  desperate  exertions. 
Mr.  Thompson  has  been  for  weeks  a  prisoner  to  his 
room.  The  abolitionists  dare  not  allow  him  to  risk  his 
life  further.  Notwithstanding  their  wrongs,  they  are 
true  patriots,  and  independently  of  their  fervent 
friendship  to  the  man,  and  the  deep  sense  of  the  value 
of  his  life  to  the  cause,  they  shudder  at  the  probabil- 
ity, that  bis  blood  may  be  upon  the  head  of  this  peo- 
ple, if  he  remains  longer.  Even  his  wife  and  little 
ones  are  unsafe.    These  are  horrible  truths.    We  can 


44  SOIREE. 

find  no  words  to  express  our  sense  of  grief  and  indig- 
nation ;  therefore,  we  make  no  comments.  We  are 
obliged  to  bear  the  sense  of  them  constantly  in  our 
minds,  and  this  is  a  severity  of  infliction  which  com- 
pels us  to  confess  them.  We  do  so  with  the  hope  that 
we  may  have  your  sympathy  and  your  prayers,  and 
in  the  confidence  that  every  contemplation  of  the 
present  crisis,  will  strengthen  us  to  renewed  exer- 
tions. One  of  your  authors  justly  observes, '  the  time 
of  preparation  for  a  better  order  of  things,  is  not  a 
time  of  favorable  appearances.  We  see  on  reflection, 
that  the  state  of  a  nation  has  changed  for  the  better, 
when  it  has  passed  from  deathly  lethargy,  though  to 
convulsive  life.' 

These  considerations  are  for  the  present  grievous, 
yet  shall  they  yield  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness to  them  that  are  exercised  thereby.  It  is  not 
until  the  Angel  troubleth  the  pool  that  it  has  virtue 
to  heal  the  impotent  who  lie  about  it.  Not  until 
men's  minds  are  hot  in  the  furnace,  that  they  yield 
to  the  weight  of  evidence  and  argument ;  and  we 
must  not  wonder  that  the  blows  of  these  appointed  in- 
struments bringing  out  sparkles  of  fiery  indignation. 

While  the  strong  are  thus  engaged  in  endeavoring 
to  soften  and  influence,  we  who  are  weak,  are  yet 
strong  in  purpose,  to  continue  to  use  all  righteous, 
christian,  and  suitable  means,  to  effect  the  same  great 
objects.  Amid  our  many  afflictions,  we  are  sorrow- 
ing most  of  all,  that  we  must  see  his  face  no  more, 
whom  you  have  sent  to  give  us  aid,  strength,  coun- 
sel, and  courage.  He  has  done  all  this  mo*t  effectual- 
ly, and  is  hunted  for  his  life  as  his  reward.  But  a 
different  reward  awaits  him — the  blessings  and  the 
thanks  of  every  friend  of  human  freedom,  that  now 
breathes,  or  ever  shall  breathe,  on  this  Globe — the 
joy  of  the  host  of  heaven  over  the  multitudes  his  min- 
istrations have  blessed — the  command  which,  if  ever 
mortal  could,  he  may  confidently  anticipate,  to  enter 
also  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord. 

Dear  Friends,  we  boast  a  common  ancestry  and  lan- 
guage ;  our  hearts  and  our  hopes  too  are  one.     You, 


SOIREE.  45 

as  well  as  ourselves,  claim  kindred  with  those  '  de- 
vout and  honorable  women,'  the  puritan  mothers  of 
New-England.  They  were  wont  to  commend  them- 
selves to  their  friends  in  «  the  love  of  Christ.'  Do  we 
not  the  same  when  we  say,  yours  in  the  love  of  free- 
dom. 

In  behalf  of  the  Ladies'  Anti-Slavery  Associations 

in  New-England. 
(Signed)        MARY  S.  PARKER,  President. 
Maria  W.  Chapmajv,  Sec.  For.  Cor. 


The  Rev.  D.  King  moved  the  second  resolu- 
tion, expressive  of  indignation  at  the  conduct  of 
America,  with  regard  to  the  slave  population.  In 
moving  this  resolution,  he  wished  it  particularly 
understood  that  the  indignation  expressed,  was 
solely  on  account  of  their  errors.  He  disclaimed 
on  his  part  all  personal  enmity  to  the  American 
anti-abolitionist's.  He  wished  to  act  in  accord- 
ance with  that  great  scripture  doctrine,  which 
teaches  us  to  hate  sin,  but  to  love  the  sinner,  and 
endeavor  through  this  affection  to  turn  him  from- 
the  error  of  his  way.  And  certainly  there  was 
much  room  for  compassion  with  regard  to  the  er- 
roneous notions  entertained  in  America  on  this 
head.  He  pitied  the  slave  master,  for  he  was  in 
a  state  of  slavery  more  degrading  than  that  of  the 
poor  negro.  His  bondage  was  that  of  the  mind, 
and  consequently  was  as  much  greater  than  the 
other,  as  mind  was  superior  to  matter.  But.  how- 
ever much  he  might  speak  thus  of  the  offender,  he 
would  not  in  any  wise  spare  the  offence.  For 
should  he  speak  in  an  indifferent  spirit  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  anti-abolitionists,  then  would  he  show 
that  he  had  not  a  proper  love  for  the  benefits  of 
freedom.    He  would  protest  therefore  against  the 


46  SOIREE. 

conduct  of  our  brethren  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  not  alone  on  account  of  the  evil  itself,  of 
which  they  were  guilty,  but  also  on  account  ol 
its  consequences — on  account  of  the  injury  to  the 
cause  of  freedom  from  these  acts  being  attributed 
by  the  enemies  of  human  liberty,  to  their  free  sys- 
tem of  government.  When  acts  of  cruelty  are 
perpetrated  in  despotic  countries — in  Turkey  for 
example,  we  would  at  once  place  it  to  the  account 
of  their  system  of  government;  but  in  America 
this  could  not  be  said  with  truth,  and  thus  it  came 
that  their  good  was  evil  spoken  of.  Looking  to 
the  immediate  results,  it  might  seem  as  if  it  would 
be  better  to  say  less  about  this  foul  blot  on  the 
American  character,  but  he  was  in  this  matter,  as 
in  every  other,  determined  to  state  the  truth,  and 
leave  the  consequence  in  the  hands  of  the  divine 
will.  (Cheers.)  Truth  could  afford  to  make  many 
sacrifices,  and  although  deserted  by  many  minis- 
ters of  Christianity!  though  Republican  "America 
was  acting  in  express  violation  of  the  obvious  dic- 
tate of  its  own  constitution,  yet  still  they  could 
remember  that  there  was  one  to  defend  the  right 
cause — He,  who  in  coming  into  this  world  said  he 
came  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth,  and  with  Him 
on  their  side,  they  had  no  reason  to  be  afraid. 
(Cheers.)  But  America  had  an  excuse  to  make 
for  her  sin.  It  was  ever  so  with  sin  ;  there  was 
always  some  excuse.  If  no  other,  there  was  at 
least  that  old  one,  'the  woman  gave  it  me  and  I 
did  eat.'  (Cheers.)  The  Americans,  then,  defend- 
ing themselves,  resorted  to  this  excuse ;  that  it 
was  not  the  fit  time  yet  for  emancipating  their 
slaves.  They  were  quite  willing  to  make  them 
free,  but  the  slaves  were  not  prepared  for  free- 
dom. Here  was  a  double  wrong  committed;  for 
not  only  did  they  keep  men  in  bondage,  but  pre- 


SOIREE.  47 

tended  that  it  was  because  they  were  not  able  to 
use  their  freedom  aright.  But  if  slaves  in  Amer- 
ica were  unfit  for  freedom,  who  had  been  the 
cause  of  that?  If  the  slave  masters  were  unwill- 
ing to  use  exertions  in  preparing  them  for  acting 
as  freemen,  who  was  to  blame?  If  they  would 
not  take  pains  to  instruct  them,  so  that  they  might 
exercise  with  propriety  the  simple  boon  of  liberty, 
then  the  guilt  and  the  folly  rest  upon  their  own 
heads.  (Cheers.)  But  it  was  impossible  to  believe 
that  the  Americans  were  speaking  in  earnest 
when  they  spoke  thus,  for  surely  we  might  think 
that  if  they  hated  slavery,  and  considered  that  the 
want  of  education  was  the  only  objection,  they 
would  endeavor  to  remove  it  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible. But  it  was  easy  to  see  that  their  preten- 
sions to  liberality  on  this  score  were  quite  un- 
founded, as  they  had,  instead  of  endeavoring  to 
enlighten  and  expand  the  minds  of  these  poor 
members  of  the  human  family,  enacted  that 
no  one  should  teach  a  slave  to  read  or  write, 
under  a  very  severe  penalty.  They  also  pre- 
tended that  it  was  impossible  for  us  on  this 
side  the  Atlantic  to  form  an  idea  of  what  slavery 
is  in  the  United  States.  It  was  only  by  going 
over  to  that  country,  that  they  could  view  it  as 
all  very  proper  to  maltreat  the  black  population. 
(Cheers.)  Among  the  many  arguments  by  which 
the  common  people  in  America  seek  to  justify 
their  conduct;  it  was  said  that  the  skin  of  the 
blacks  gave  out  an  offensive  odour,  and  that  this 
was  one  cause  of  the  prejudice  entertained  against 
them.  But  with  regard  to  this  point,  we  are  not 
left  to  gather  all  our  intelligence  of  them  from  the 
American  slave  owners.  Some  of  them  occasion- 
ally reached  the  shores  of  this  country,  and  so  far 
as  he  had  learned  of  them,  those  who  came  here 


48  SOIREE. 

did  not  contaminate  the  atmosphere  as  they  were 
charged  with.  Indeed,  it  was  utterly  impossible 
there  could  be  any  thing  in  the  effluvia  proceeding 
from  their  bodies,  or  else  the  nobility  and  gentry 
would  not  be  so  fond  of  black  servants.  (Cheers.) 
The  fact  was  that  what  they  complained  of,  did 
not  belong  to  slaves  at  all ;  it  ivas  after  they  be- 
came free  that  the  smell  was  felt  to  be  disagreea- 
ble. There  was  one  thing,  on  account  of  which 
he  felt  glad,  that  they  were  able  to  stand  up  and 
feel  in  condemning  the  sin  of  America,  that  we 
were  not  self-condemned ;  that  they  could  not 
say  to  us  with  truth,  'Physician,  heal  thyself.' — 
The  Americans  were  ill  pleased  at  this,  however, 
for  it  showed  from  the  example  of  our  colonies, 
how  safely  emancipation  might  be  effected,  with- 
out any  of  those  frightful  consequences  which 
were  predicted  as  likely  to  follow  the  emancipa- 
tion of  the  slaves  in  the  West  Indies.  For  sure- 
ly it  cannot  be  said  now,  that  there  will  be  any 
danger  from  that  quarter ;  and  as  little  cause  have 
the  Americans  to  fear  any  of  these  terrible  re- 
sults, which,  according  to  many  authorities  among 
them,  would  most  certainly  follow  the  immediate 
emancipation  of  all  the  slaves  in  the  United  States. 
(Cheers.)  If  America  would  follow  his  advice,  he 
would  let  the  example  of  this  coifntry  be  copied 
by  America  in  every  thing  save  the  clogging  re- 
strictions. One  galling  circumstance  with  re- 
gard to  slavery  in  the  United  States  was  its  being 
so  frequently  held  up  by  the  Tories  as  an  argu- 
ment against  liberal  constitutions,  and  this  could 
never  be  satisfactorily  answered,  until  immediate, 
complete,  and  unconditional  emancipation  be  ob- 
tained for  the  negro.  (Cheers.) 

Mr.  Kettle  said,  is  it  not  a  melancholy  spec- 
tacle, Mr.  Chairman,  that  in  Republican  Ameri- 


SOIREE.  49 

ca,  which  owes  its  origin  as  a  nation  to  its  having 
been  the  refuge  of  the  oppressed  and  persecuted 
puritans,  and  laying  claim  as  it  does  to  being  a 
land  of  freedom — I  say,  Sir,  is  it  not  heart-sick- 
ening, that  in  such  a  country,  claiming  such  a 
character,  practical  oppression,  civil  disability, 
and  social  despotism,  should  be  found  legalized 
and  domesticated  as  if  to  hold  up  to  public  deri- 
sion all  that  is  sound  in  its  civil  polity,  and  all 
that  is  sincere  in  its  profession  of  Christianity. — 
The  fact,  Sir,  at  first,  no  doubt,  excites  our  aston- 
ishment, and  perhaps  our  indignation  ;  but  if  we 
look  back  to  its  origin,  we  shall  find  more  occa- 
sion for  our  pity  and  compassion.  I  do  not  stand 
up,  Sir,  as  the  apologist  of  Slavery  or  of  Slave- 
holders ;  were  I  to  do  so,  every  line  of  my  motion 
would  frown  upon  me,  as  well  as  every  feeling 
of  my  nature.  But,  Sir,  we  should  keep  in  mind 
that  America  had  become  a  Slave-dealer,  before 
she  became  her  own  mistress,  and  that  her  pres- 
ent circumstances  are  a  part  of  the  Colonial  in- 
heritance left  her  by  us.  Would,  Sir,  that  she 
had  had  the  principle,  and  the  wisdom,  to  do  witq 
Slavery  what  she  did  with  her  allegiance  to  this 
country — to  have  cast  it  away  from  her  forever, 
as  unworthy  of  a  land  of  freemen.  Had  the  first 
act  of  her  independence  been  the  total  abolition 
of  slavery, 

'Hail,  Columbia,  happy  land/ 

might  then,  Sir,  and  might  now,  have  been  said 
or  sung  with  tenfold  more  truth.  The  love  of 
mammon,  however,  unhappily  overcame  the  love 
of  justice;  and  as  in  every  case,  where  the  laws 
of  God  are  set  aside,  the  perversity  of  man  breeds 
and  brings  to  maturity  its  own  punishment,  so  has 
it  been,  and  so  will  it  be  with  America,  As  long 
5 


50  SOIREE. 

as  Bhe  continues  an  oppressor,  she  may  increase 
her  population,  she  may  extend  her  commerce, 
but  there  is  a  worm  in  the  bud,  which,  if  not  de- 
stroyed, will  blast  her  beauty,  and  bring-  her  down 
to  the  dust  of  desolation.  Her  bondmen,  like 
those  in  Egypt,  have  now  increased,  and  the  dif- 
ficulty of  their  liberation,  viewed  as  a  mere  mat- 
ter of  profit  and  loss,  has  also  increased ;  and, 
however  much  we  in  this  country  may  be  con- 
vinced of  the  propriety  of  their  immediate  eman- 
cipation, yet,  we  must  keep  in  mind  that  many  of 
the  Americans  view  the  matter  through  a  very 
different  medium.  They  look  at  it,  Sir,  through 
a  pair  of  moral  spectacles,  having  one  lens 
compounded  of  interest  and  avarice,  and  the 
other  of  pride  and  prejudice,  both  of  which  meet 
in  a  common  focus  causing  crooked  things  to  lock 
strait,  and  abominable  things  bright  and  beauti- 
ful. It  is  upon  no  other  principle  that  1  can  ac- 
count for  the  views  and  sentiments  of  Governor 
McDuffie.  Tiiey  could  not  otherwise  have  come 
out  of  any  human  head  living  in  a  christian  coun- 
try, in  the  35th  year  of  the  19th  century  of  the 
christian  era.  What,  Sir,  is  America  to  be  told, — 
busy,  bustling,  canal-cutting,  rail  road-making', 
forest-clearing,  city-raising,  ship-building,  every- 
where-penetrating America, — that  domestic  Sla- 
very is  the  corner  stone  of  her  commercial  and 
political  prosperity?  Is  the  sapient  Governor  to 
put  on  the  spectacles  1  have  referred  to,  and  after 
reading  certain  select  portions  of  the  bible  with 
them,  to  tell  America,  the  country  of  Cotton  Ma- 
ther, and  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  Timothy  Dwight, 
and  Edward  Payson,  bes;des  a  host  of  pious  fe- 
males, whose  biography  has  shed  on  it  a  lustre 
brighter  far,  in  our  estimation,  than  that  of  its  pol- 
iticians and  philosophers— that  it  is  one  of  the 


SOIREE.  5i 

plainest  appointments  of  God,  an  ordinance  so 
distinctly  instituted  that  it  cannot  be  misunder- 
stood, that  they  must  buy  and  sell,  and  beat  and 
buffet  their  fellow  creatures,  and  fellow  christians, 
provided  they  happen  to  be  a  little  dark  in  the 
complexion,  and  harness  them  like  oxen,  and  put 
out  the  eyes  of  their  understandings,  and  shut  up 
their  souls  in  perpetual  darkness!  Nay.  Sir,  that 
they  are  chalked  off,  by  the  the  great  father  of 
the  human  family,  the  God  of  the  universe,  for 
that  special  end,  colored  and  shaped  for  the  very 
purpose  ;  and  were  they  placed  in  any  other  posi- 
tion than  that  of  slaves,  the  order  of  nature  would 
be  disturbed,  and  there  would  be  an  immense 
chasm  in  personal,  social,  and  national  morality! 
After  all,  Sir,  I  feel  a  kind  of  respect  for  this  The- 
ological Governor.  There  is  something  down- 
right and  straightforward  about  him,  and  I  would 
far  rather  have  a  man  honest  in  a  bad  cause,  than 
one  who  acknowledges  its  badness,  and  after  a  few 
extenuating  huts,  either  pleads  for,  or  passively 
submits  to  its  continuance.  This  latter  class  of 
persons  are  the  protectors  of  nearly  nil  the  legal- 
ized evils  that  exist  in  the  world.  They  are  the 
very  body  guard  of  corruptions,  moral  and  politi- 
cal. They  are  always  in  the  way  of  reform,  rais- 
ing their  barricadoes  of  opposition,  admitting  all 
the  while,  the  correctness  of  your  statements,  the 
truth  of  your  principles,  yet  holding  in  dread 
abeyance  the  application  of  the  measures  sanc- 
tioned by  tlmm.  Such  persons  may  be  compared 
to  '  damaged  clocks,  whose  bande  and  bells  dis- 
sent— conduct  sings  six,  when  conscience  points 
at  twelve.'  Truly,  Sir,  they  arc  objects  of  pity  ; 
what  an  uncomfortable  world  this  must  be  to  them! 
They  are  doomed  to  a  constant  warfare  betwixt 
custom  and  conscience.    They  are  governed  by 


52  SOIREE. 

something  extrinsic  to  themselves,  apart  from 
their  reason,  and  must  go  where  the  public  opin- 
ion of  their  own  little  selfish  circle  may  lead  them. 
It  is  but  natural,  Sir,  that  a  man's  speculative 
opinions,or  I  might  say,  admitted  principles,  should 
be  a  little  in  advance  of  their  full  practical  exhi- 
bition. We  are  so  much  creatures  of  habit,  and 
so  averse  to  condemn  ourselves,  by  altering-  our 
opinions  and  practices,  that  conscience  must  raise 
a  pretty  loud  clamor,  before  we  listen  to,  and  obey 
it.  Let  us  therefore  hope,  Sir,  that  those  who 
now  remain  neutral  on  this  great  moral  question, 
will,  without  much  further  delay,  disband  their 
prejudices,  and  take  up  a  position  more  becoming 
American  citizens,  to  say  nothing  of  christian 
character. 

I  now  come,  Sir,  to  the  last  part  of  my  motion, 
which  refers  to  a  class  who  at  all  times  demand 
our  esteem  and  affection,  and  who  at  the  present 
time  have  a  peculiar  claim  on  our  aid,  our  admi- 
ration, our  sympathy,  and  our  prayers.  I  mean, 
Sir,  the  Christian  Abolitionists  of  America.  Upon 
them,  under  God,  lies  the  work  of  ridding  their 
country  of  this  moral  and  spiritual  pestilence.  It 
was  the  Christian  principle  of  this  country  that 
carried  Emancipation  here,  and  I  am  widely  mis- 
taken in  my  opinion  of  the  religion  of  America, 
if  the  same  cause  produce  not  the  same  effect 
there.  Who  can  read  the  writings  of  Garrison 
and  Birnet,  or  hear  of  the  faith  and  fortitude  of 
the  female  abolitionists  of  Boston,  and  call  this  in 
question  ?  We  cannot  but  admire  then),  or  rath- 
er I  should  say,  admire  the  grace  of  God  in  them. 
We  have  only  to  think  what  was  lately  our  own 
circumstances,  in  order  to  sympathise  with  them, 
and  to  keep  in  mind  that  the  heat  of  the  furnace 
of  their  trial  is  seven-fold  that  of  ours;  and  oh, 


SOIREE.  53 

let  us  not  forget  that  as  Christian  brethren  en- 
gaged in  a  delicate  and  difficult,  but  clearly  de- 
fined duty,  they  have  a  special  claim  on  our  pray- 
ers— that  God  may  direct  and  sustain  them — that 
they  may  carry  about  with  them  the  spirit  of 
Christ — pity  for  the  oppressed,  and  prayer  for  the 
oppressor.  We  are  far  removed  from  them,  and 
can  help  them  but  little,  but  God  can  help  them. 
Prayer  moves  the  hand  that  moves  the  world. 
He  helped  us  in  our  late  successful  struggle,  and 
has  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad. 
He  can  do  the  same  for  them.  Let  us  therefore 
lift  up  our  individual  and  united  intercessions  to 
Him,  in  the  name  of  our  Great  High  Priest,  on 
their  behalf,  resting  assured  that  if  we  put  our 
trust  in  Him,  in  this  matter,  he  will  not  allow  our 
expectation  to  perish,  and  that  America  will  yet 
stand  forth  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  with 
head  erect,  free,  not  in  name  but  in  reality,  re- 
ligious and  happy. 

Mr.  Thompson,  on  ag-aln  presenting  himself, 
was  received  with  deafening  cheers.  Sir,  it  falls 
to  my  lotto  close  the  proceedings  of  this  joyous 
evening  by  acknowledging  the  compliment  to 
myself,  and  the  individuals  with  whom  my  name 
is  associated,  in  the  resolution  just  passed.  It 
would  be  vain  for  me  to  attempt  to  pronounce  a 
suitable  eulogium  upon  the  names  of  Arthur 
Tappan  and  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  names 
now  covered  with  infamy  and  reproach,  but  or- 
dained to  stand  out  in  imperishable  characters  a- 
midst  the  annals  of  American  philanthropy.  Mr. 
Tappan,  though  neither  an  orator  nor  an  author, 
but  a  modest  Christian,  and  a  respectable  mer- 
chant— had  by  his  munificent  donations  been  on« 
5* 


54  SOIREE. 

of  the  main  props  of  the  cause  of  Abolition  in 
America.  Mr.  Thompson  then  gave  a  very  long 
and  interesting  account  of  the  commencement  of 
Mr.  Tappan's  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Garrison, 
and  their  joint  labors  down  to  the  present  time. 
When  the  latter,  five  years  and  a  half  ago,  lay 
incarcerated  in  a  dungeon  for  exposing  the  hor- 
rors of  American  Slavery,  the  former,  who,  up 
to  that  time,  had  never  seen  Mr.  Garrison,  and 
scarcely  heard  of  him,  entering  deeply  into  his 
wrongs,  sent  forward  to  Baltimore  the  amount  of 
the  fine,  and  redeemed  the  man  who  subsequent- 
ly became  his  closest  friend,  and  the  acknowl- 
edged champion  of  the  glorious  cause  of  Ameri- 
can Emancipation.  (Great cheering.)  Mr.Thornp- 
son  related  a  number  of  anecdotes  illustrative  of 
the  zeal,  sufferings,  and  danger  of  Mr.  Tappan, 
and  then  proceeded  to  speak  in  terms  of  the  loft- 
iest admiration  of  his  friend  and  fellow-laborer, 
Mr.  Garrison.  Mr.  Thompson  also  read  a  part  of 
a  letter  sent  to  him  by  Mr.  Garrison,  while  he 
was  at  St.  John.  These  extracts  produced  a 
deep  sensation  in  the  audience.  The  christian 
temper — the  martyr-like  intrepidity,  and  devout 
gratitude  which  breathed  in  every  sentence,  must 
have  placed  the  writer  high  it)  the  esteem  and 
affections  of  all  who  were  privileged  thus  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  him.  Mr.  Thompson  ex- 
pressed an  earnest  hope,  that  the  man  whose 
burning  words  he  had  just  read,  would  one  day 
speak  for  himself  and  his  cause,  before  a  Glas- 
gow auditory — (tremendous  cheering.)  After 
relating  a  variety  of  anecdotes,  many  of  them 
highly  interesting, — illustrating  the  safety  of  im- 
mediate emancipation — the  capacity  of  the  ne- 
gro— his  pacific  disposition--his  gratitude  towards 
hb  benefactor — and  the  folly  and  wickedness  of 


SOIREE.  55 

the  prejudice  that  seeks  to  sink  him  below  his 
legitimate  rank  amongst  the  family  of  God,  con- 
cluded by  reminding  his  friends  around  him,  that 
they  were  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  universal 
Emancipation — Emancipation  for  all,  in  every 
clime,  who  groaned  under  the  fetters  of  domestic 
slavery.  He  also  entreated  his  friends  constant- 
ly to  bear  in  mind  that  their  battle  was  to  be 
fought  upon  Christian  principle,  and  by  christian 
means,  their  object  being  identified  with  the  glo- 
ry of  God,  and  the  spiritual  freedom  of  the  hu- 
man race.  Thus  fighting  for  God,  and  looking 
constantly  to  him  for  direction  and  support,  they 
could  not  err.  They  could  never  be  defeated. — 
yet,  a  little  while,  and  the  monster  would  be 
slain,  and  when  their  holy  triumph  was  attained, 
Angels  in  Heaven,  with  the  ransomed  and  the 
victors  upon  earth,  would  join  in  shouting,  'Hal- 
lelujah, Hallelujah,  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth.'  (Loud  and  long  continued  acclama- 
tion.) 

It  was  twelve  o'clock  ere  the  assembly  broke 
up,  and  so  highly  delighted  did  all  seem  that  not 
the  slightest  symptom  of  weariness  or  anxiety  to 
get  away  was  manifested  to  the  last.  Indeed, 
Mr.  Thompson,  who  was  the  last  to  address  them, 
was  warmly  cheered,  and  encouraged  to  go  on  in 
his  last  speech. 


56  SOIREE. 

At  a  Public  Soiree,  given  in  honor  of  Mr. 
Geo.  Thompson,  on  the  evening  of  25th  January, 
instant,  and  most  numerously  and  respectably  at- 
tended, the  following  Resolutions  were  unani- 
mously adopted : — 

1st.  That  this  Meeting,  with  unmingled  de- 
light, welcomes  the  return  of  Mr.  Thompson 
from  America — seizes  this  early  opportunity  to 
express  its  high  admiration  of  the  blameless  pro- 
priety, distinguished  talent,  and  noble  self-devo- 
tion, with  which  he  has  prosecuted  the  great  ob- 
ject of  his  mission  to  the  United  States,  in  the 
face  of  national  prejudice,  interested  denuncia- 
tions, and  lawless  violence — and  feels  devoutly 
grateful  to  that  God  who,  amidst  such  opposition, 
has  crowned  his  labors  with  signal  success,  and 
through  many  perils,  brought  him  again  safely  to 
these  shores. 

2d.  That  this  Meeting  has  heard,  with  deep 
grief  and  indignation,  of  the  misrepresentation, 
calumny,  riot,  and  blood-thirsty  violence  employ- 
ed against  the  friends  and  advocates  of  freedom 
in  the  United  States  of  America  by  many  of  their 
people  in  maintainance  of  their  criminal  preju- 
dice against  their  fellow-citizens  of  color,  their 
wicked  and  extensive  system  of  iron-bondage, 
and  their  unhallowed  trade  in  human  beings,  and 
this  Meeting  most  solemnly  declares  its  belief 
that  such  a  prejudice,  such  a  system,  and  such  a 
trade,  are  not  only  opposed  to  the  great  princi- 
ples of  their  free  constitution,  but  are  an  open  and 
awful  defiance  of  the  rights  of  humanity,  the 
principles  of  justice,  and  the  obligations  of  the 
Divine  law — a  perpetuation  of  ignorance,  oppres- 
sion, cruelty,  and  the  ruin  of  immortal  souls — 
fearfully  provoking  the  judgments  of  the  Almigh- 
ty against  their  land  and  nation. 


SOIREE.  57 

3d.  That  whilst  this  Meeting  deeply  laments 
the  conduct  of  many  Christians  in  the  United 
States  who,  active  in  other  fields  of  Christian  du- 
ty, remain  neutral  in  this  momentous  conflict,  or 
lend  their  influences  to  the  enemy,  it  has  also 
great  cause  of  thankfulness  to  God  that  many 
able,  enlightened,  and  pious  philanthropists  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States,  have  organized  them- 
selves with  heroic  firmness  in  the  cause  of  imme- 
diate and  universal  Negro  Emancipation — that 
this  Meeting  affectionately  proffers  its  friendship 
and  co-operation  to  these  kindred  Societies — de- 
sires to  strengthen  their  hands  and  to  cheer  their 
hearts,  and  pledges  itself  to  aid  them  by  its  ac- 
tive exertions,  its  sympathies,  and  its  prayers. 

4th.  That  this  Meeting,  whilst  it  highly  appre- 
ciates the  labors  of  all  who  have  attached  them- 
selves to  the  cause  of  the  Negro  in  the  United 
States,  cannot  resist  the  loud  call  for  a  specirl 
tribute  to  the  three  men  pre-eminently  honored 
under  God,  by  their  high  talent,  their  great  sac- 
rifices, their  bold  defiance  of  every  danger,  and 
their  fixed  high  principle,  to  originate,  sustain, 
and  carry  to  its  present  strong  position,  the  Na- 
tional movement  in  America  for  immediate  Ne- 
gro Emancipation,  and  it  does,  therefore,  tender 
its  most  heart  felt  thanks  to  Wm.  Lloyd  Garri- 
son, Arthur  Tappan,  and  George  Thompson, 

WILLIAM  P.  PATON,  Chairman. 


ADDRESS 

PRESENTED  TO 

GEORGE  THOMPSON,  Esq. 

Jit  an  Entertainment  given  to  him  by  the  Inhabit- 
ants of  Edinburgh,  in  the  Assembly  Rooms, 
George  Street,  on  the  Evening  of  the  19tk 
February,  1836. 

Esteemed  and  Honored  Friend: 

This  Meeting  have  come  together  for  the  pur- 
pose of  testifying  the  regard  in  which  you  are 
held  by  the  friends  of  liberty  and  humanity  in  this 
city,  we  cannot  content  ourselves  without  doing 
something  more  than  merely  offering  the  homage 
of  our  presence  and  respectful  attention  to  what 
you  may  address  to  us ;  and  though  the  manner 
in  which  you  have  been  received  and  listened  to 
by  the  numerous  and  intelligent  audiences  you 
have  had  an  opportunity  of  addressing  since  you 
last  arrived  among  us,  as  well  as  the  resolutions 
which  have  been  unanimously  passed  on  several 
of  these  occnsions,  must  have  satisfied  you,  not 
merely  as  to  the  estimate  formed  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Edinburgh  of  the  value  of  your  recent 
services  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  but  also  as  to 
the  place  which  you  continue  to  hold  in  their 


ADDRESS.  50 

warm  and  affectionate  remembrance;  yet  we 
cannot  refrain  from  availing  ourselves  of  the 
privilege  afforded  by  the  more  unrestrained  and 
social  character  of  the  present  Meeting,  of  con- 
veying to  you  in  a  more  direct  manner  the  ex- 
pression of  our  feelings  in  reference  to  these 
points. 

It  is  now  about  three  years  since  the  inhabitants 
of  Edinburgh  had  first  the  pleasure  of  forming 
your  acquaintance,  and  listening  to  your  address* 
es  on  behalf  of  the  oppressed  and  deeply  injured 
slaves  of  our  own  colonies.  To  the  events  of  that 
period  our  memories  revert  with  a  peculiar  vivid- 
ness of  interest.  Arriving  at  a  moment  when  the 
public  mind  was  beginning  to  be  fully  awakened 
to  the  injustice,  impiety,  and  cruelty  of  which  our 
nation  had  so  long  been  guily,  in  tolerating  the 
continuance  of  Negro  Slavery  in  our  Colonial 
possessions,  you  were  at  once  welcomed  as  a 
champion  in  a  good  cause,  and  became  the  instru- 
ment, in  the  hand  of  Providence,  of  informing  and 
directing  our  rising  zeal,  and  of  bringing  our  best 
energies  to  bear  upon  the  advancement  of  the 
great  cause  of  Negro  Emancipation.  We  can 
well  remember  the  effect  produced  upon  the 
crowded  audiences  to  which  you  then  spoke,  by 
the  copious  and  well-arranged  evidence  which 
you  adduced  as  to  the  actual  state  of  the  Slaves 
in  the  British  Colonies,  by  the  clear  and  well  es- 
tablished principles  of  morality,  policy,  and  reli- 
gion, which  you  so  successfully  applied  to  the 
question  of  Slavery,  by  the  consummate  skill  with 
which  you  baffled  the  efforts,  and  exploded  the 
specious  sophistries  of  the  agents  and  apologists 
of  oppression,  and  by  the  resistless  torrents  of 
eloquence  with  which  you  enforced  your  appeals 
to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  those  whom  your 
arguments  had  already  convinced. 


60  ADDRESS. 

Since  then  the  great  work,  to  the  advancement 
of  which  your  exertions  were  directed,  has,  by  the 
Divine  blessing,  been  accomplished;  our  country 
has  been  relieved  from  the  odious  and  accursed 
stain  of  Slavery;  and  the  great  truth  that  *  man 
cannot  hold  property  in  man''  has  been  recorded 
in  our  statute-book,  as  one  of  the  settled  princi- 
ples of  British  Law.  To  that  result  the  people  of 
Edinburgh  may  justly  claim  the  honor  of  having 
in  no  mean  degree*  contributed ;  and  to  them  it 
will  ever  be  a  duty,  as  it  always  has  been  and  is 
still,  a  pleasure  to  confess  how  much  of  the  zeal, 
energy,  and  intelligence  with  which  they  weic 
enabled  to  urge  their  wishes  on  behalf  of  the 
slave,  was  owing  to  the  effects  produced  upon 
them  by  the  unwearied,  talented,  and  impressive 
exertions  of  the  gentleman  they  have  now  the 
satisfaction  to  address. 

During  the  interval  which  has  elapsed  since  the 
auspicious  day  on  which  you  joined  with  the  in- 
habitants of  this  city  in  celebrating  the  carrying 
into  effect  of  the  Bill  for  emancipating  the  Slaves 
in  the  British  Colonies,  it  has  been  your  privilege 
to  advocate  the  cause  of  the  oppressed  in  another 
country,  nearly  related  to  our  own  by  the  ties  of 
a  common  descent,  a  common  language,  and  a 
common  religion,  but  where  your  labors  have  un- 
happily not  met  with  that  triumphant  success  with 
which  they  were  crowned  here,  or  which  we 
might  have  expected  them  to  receive  in  a  land 
that  boasts  the  possession  of  such  peculiar  priv- 
ileges as  America.  Your  visit  to  that  country  we 
have  watched  with  no  incurious  or  uninterested 
eye;  and,  while  it  has  grieved  us  to  learn  how 
the  force  of  an  unreasonable,  and  unnatural  preju- 
dice against  color,  oppresses  the  minds  of  our 
brethren  in  that  country;  while  we  have  heard 


ADDRESS.  Gl 

V?ith  sorrow  and  with  shame  of  the  gross  and 
glaring  inconsistencies  into  which  this  prejudice 
has  led  men  whom  we  cannot  but  regard  as  fellow 
christians  j  while  we  have  been  filled  with  horror 
at  the  recitals  you  have  given  us  of  the  injuries, 
indignities,  and  cruelties  which  the  unhappy 
African  is  doomed  to  suffer  in  that  land  of  boasted 
liberty  and  piety;  and  while  we  have  seen  with 
mingled  sensations  of  indignation  and  p.ty,  the 
ungenerous  and  even  barbarous  manner  in  which 
you,  our  beloved  friend  and  trusted  representa- 
tive, have  been  treated  by  these  republicans  of 
the  West ;  we  would  nevertheless  rejoice  in  your 
having  engaged  in  that  mission,  and  congratulate 
you  on  the  important  results  which  you  have  been 
enabled  to  effect  in  that  country  in  reference  to 
the  object  that  carried  you  thither.  We  thank 
you  for  having  so  ably,  so  zealously,  so  prudently, 
and  in  a  spirit  so  truly  Christian,  represented  to 
our  brethren  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  our 
views  and  feelings  in  regard  to  this  important 
subject.  We  offer  our  thanksgivings  to  God  on 
your  behalf  in  that  you  have  been  preserved  and 
protected  amid  the  many  labors  you  were  called 
to  endure,  and  the  threatening  dangers  to  which 
you  were  exposed.  We  rejoice  with  you  on 
account  of  the  auspicious  circumstances  in  which 
you  loft  the  cause  of  Liberty,  in  that  vast  and 
powerful  continent.  And  wc  pray  that  the  seed 
you  have  there  sown  with  much  difficulty,  and 
even  at  the  peril  of  your  life,  may  be  watered  by 
the  dews  from  heaven,  and  may  grow  up  and  bring 
forth  an  abundant  harvest  of  blessing  to  mankind, 
and  of  glory  to  God. 

It  has  afforded  us  the  sincerest  pleasure  to  see 
you  again,  and  to  welcome  you  hack  to  the  scene 
of  your  former  exertions  and  triumphs;  and  now 
6 


62  ADDRESS. 

that  we  arc  about  once  more  to  part,  we  would 
solemnly  and  affectionately  commend  you  to  the 
God  of  all  grace,  in  whose  service  you  have  been 
laboring,  and  by  whose  blessing  your  labors  have 
been  crowned  with  such  gratifying  success.  Thai 
He  may  watch  over  you  and  keep  you  in  health 
and  happiness  for  many  years, — that  He  may 
abundantly  bless  you  in  your  future  engagements 
and  undertakings, — that  He  may  bestow  his  pe- 
culiar favor  upon  your  partner  in  life,  and  the 
children  he  has  given  you, — that  He  may  be  the 
breaker  up  of  your  way  and  the  guide  of  your 
path, — that  He  may  comfort  you  with  the  privil- 
eges and  enjoyments  of  his  reconciled  presence, — ■ 
and  that  when  his  wise  and  all-gracious  purposes 
with  you  here  are  finished,  He  may  receive  you 
with  the  commendation  of  a  faithful  servant,  into 
the  rest  and  glory  of  heaven,  are  the  objects,  dear 
and  honored  Friend,  of  our  earnest  desire  and 
unceasing  prayer  on  your  behalf.  With  these 
desires  and  prayers  we  will  follow  you  whitherso- 
ever it  may  please  Providence  to  direct  your 
steps  ;  and  while  we  remember  you,  we  will  not 
forget  the  cause  in  which  you  have  been  engaged, 
and  with  which  your  name  is  now  inseparably 
connected.  In  the  spirit  of  our  holy  religion,  and 
in  obedience  to  one  of  its  express  precepts,  we 
will  seek  to  'remember  those  that  are  in  bonds 
as  bound  with  them  ;'  and  pledged  as  we  consider 
ourselves  to  be  by  the  most  solemn  obligations  to 
continued  exertion  in  this  great  enterprise  of 
Christian  benevolence,  we  would  take  occasion 
from  all  that  you  have  recently  detailed  to  us,  to 
go  forward  with  increased  alacrity  and  zeal,  be- 
lieving that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  our 
principles  shall  be  acknowledged  wherever  the 
P.iblc  is  revered,  and  when  from  every  ration  in 


ADDRESS.  03 

Christendom  the  foul  blot  of  Slavery  having  been 
washed  away,  the  liberated  bondsman  shall  crease 
to  groan,  and  rising  from  the  degradation  into 
winch  he  has  been  plunged,  shall,  (to  use  the 
words  of  the  eloquent  Curran,)  'stand  redeemed, 
regenerated,  and  disenthralled  by  the  irresistible 
genius  of  Universal  Emancipation.' 

Signed  in  behalf  of  the  Meeting, 
ROBERT  KAYE  GREVILLE,L.L.D., 

Chairman, 


AMERICAN  SLAVERY. 

MR.   GEORGE  THOMPSON. 

On  Thursday  evening-,  a  public  meeting  of  the 
Edinburgh  Emancipation  Society,  and  its  friends, 
was  held  in  the  Rev.  Dr.  Peddie's  chape],  Bristo 
Street,  when  Mr.  Thompson  gave  an  account  of 
his  Anti-Slavery  Mission  to  the  United  States  of 
America.  The  admission  to  the  meeting  was  by 
tickets,  sixpence  each — each  ticket  admitting  two 
persons,  and  as  there  were  upwards  of  a  thousand 
of  these  sold,  there  must  have  been  more  than 
two  thousand  persons  present.  We  knew,  also, 
that  a  great  many  persons  were  disappointed  in 
procuring  tickets,  so  speedily  were  they  all  dis- 
posed of.  About  seven  o'clock,  Mr.  Thompson 
made  his  appearance  in  the  pulpit,  and  was  re- 
ceived with  several  distinct  rounds  of  the  most 
enthusiastic  applause.  John  Wigham,  Jun.  Esq. 
was  called  to  the  chair,  and  in  opening  the  meet- 
ing said,  that  from  the  manifestations  which  he 
just  witnessed,  he  was  sure  they  were  all  anima- 
ted by  one  common  feeling  of  delight  and  satis- 
faction to  find  that  their  able  and  distinguished 
friend  Mr.  Thompson  had  performed  the  object  of 
his  mission  so  energetically  and  successfully,  and 


MEETING   AT    EDINBURGH.  65 

that  he  had  returned  to  them  in  safety,  under  the 
extraordinary  circumstances  in  which  lie  had  been 
placed.     (Great  cheering.) 

Mr.  Thompson  then  rose  and  was  received 
with  a  fresh  burst  of  applause.  He  should  not, 
he  said,  attempt  to  describe  the  feelings  of  satis- 
faction with  which  he  gazed  upon  the  laige  and 
intelligent  audience  which  he  beheld  assembled 
once  more  within  these  well  known  walls,  for  the 
purpose  of  listening  to  him  who  had  now  the 
honor  to  appear  before  them,  and  to  hear  from 
his  lips  the  progress  of  those  principles  which 
they  had  there  together  enunciated  and  espous- 
ed, and  the  triumph  of  which  they  had  there  to- 
gether celebrated.  He  dared  not  trust  himself 
even  to  attempt  an  expression  of  the  joy  and 
gratitude  which  filled  his  bosom  when  he  beheld 
them  still  feeling  a  deep  interest  in  the  cause  of 
human  freedom,  and  found  that  not  only  had  they 
not  deserted  that  cause,  but  that  they  were  rally- 
ing in  even  greater  numbers  around  the  standard 
which,  they,  in  by-gone  days,  had  planted  and 
promised  to  sustain,  while  there  was  a  fetter  on 
the  heel  of  a  single  human  being  on  the  face  of 
the  globe.  (Cheers.)  He  begged  to  assure  the 
meeting  that  his  own  attachment  to  the  cause 
which  he  had  the  honor  to  advocate  remained  un- 
diminished— and  not  only  so,  but  that  it  had  nev- 
er even  wavered  or  been  weakened  ;  that  it  still 
continued  as  strong  i  s  ever,  and  that  what  he  had 
witnessed  in  a  far-off  land,  had  but  the  more  deep- 
ly convinced  him  of  the  potency  and  omnipotence 
of  those  principles  by  the  advocacy  and  enforce- 
ment of  which  we  had  succeeded  in  slaying  the 
monster  on  our  own  borders  ;  that  it  had  only 
more  deeply  convinced  him  that  nothing  was 
6* 


GO  MEETING    AT 

•wanting  but  the  unceasing,  the  persevering  pub- 
lication of  those  principles,  to  put  an  end  to  sla- 
very wherever  it  curses  the  soil  and  degrades  hu- 
manity on  the  face  of  the  earth.  (Immense  ap- 
plause.) He  had  that  night  to  draw  their  atten- 
tion to  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  United  States 
of  America — to  the  incongruous  institution  of 
domestic  slavery  in  a  land  of  freedom.  He  wish- 
ed it  to  be  understood  that  they  were  net  met 
there  that  night,  guided  and  influenced  by  a  mere 
desire  to  know  what  was  going  on  in  the  United 
States,  as  a  matter  of  mere  history  of  contempo- 
raneous events  ;  but  that  they  were  there  to  feel 
a  deep  interest  upon  many  grounds,  in  the  great 
question  of  human  rights  which  was  now  agita- 
ting that  wide  spread  territory.  (Cheers.)  The 
history  of  the  Anti-Slavery  question  in  America 
was  deeply  interesting,  as  developing  the  best, 
the  holiest,  and  the  mightiest  means  of  carrying 
forward  a  moral  revolution  ;  by  the  simple  enun- 
ciation of  the  principles,  the  supremacy  of  which 
was  sought  to  be  obtained,  without  resorting  to 
physical  violence ;  by  the  simple  action  of  man 
upon  man  ;  by  opinion  operating  upon  opinion; 
by  merely  enlisting  the  pulpit,  the  press,  and  the 
platform,  in  the  work  of  that  reformation.  (Cheers.) 
The  history  of  the  American  slavery  question 
was  as  interesting  as  it  was  plain,  as  displaying 
the  mighty  influence  of  truth  when  outspoken 
and  fearlessly  enunciated  without  regard  to  hu- 
man wisdom  or  expediency;  these  having  been 
the  means  by  which  a  mighty  change  had  been 
effected  in  America  in  reference  to  this  question 
— a  change  so  mighty  that,  he  might  venture 
without  hesitation  to  say,  no  change  so  great, 
without  the  interference  of  miraculous  power  had 
ever  been  effected  in  any  era  of  the  world.  (Great 


EDINBURGH.  67 

cheering.)    He  repeated  that  it  had  been  effect- 
ed not  by  human  wisdom,  by  rank,   nor   wealth, 
nor  politics,  nor  learning,  nor  expediency,  but  by 
the  mighty  lever  which  is  fated   to  overturn   the 
world,  and  place  it   as  it   should  stand,   with  its 
apex    upwards — it    was    by    'the    foolishness    of 
preaching.'     (Great   applause.)      That    was    the 
mighty  agency  which  he  employed  in   America. 
TIub  history  of  the  Anti-Slavery  question  was  al- 
so highly  interesting,  as  bringing  us  acquainted 
with  some  of  the  noblest  specimens  of  human  na- 
ture— with  some  of  the  boldest  and   purest  Re- 
formers that  ever  lived.     He  spoke  unhesitating- 
ly when  he  said  so  ;  and   he  should   demonstrate 
the  truth  of  this  assertion  ere  he  left  the  subject. 
He  begged  to  state,  that  he   was  not  there  that 
night  to  make  the  gulf  of  feeling  and  sentiment 
between  Great  Britain  and  America  wider  than  it 
is — he  was  not  there  to  publish  an  act  of  divorce 
between  them — but  to  unite  them  in  one  common 
object,  one  common  sympathy,  one  common  prin- 
ciple, and  one  common  plan,  to  put  an  end  to  sla- 
very wherever  it  exists.     He  wanted  to  bring  the 
friends  of  the  slave   in   this  country,  in  contact 
with  the  noble  and  sublime  spirits  who  were  wait- 
ing to  embrace  them  over  the  blue  waters  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  to  join    them   in   one   indissoluble 
•compact  never  to  relax  their  moral   energy,   until 
they  shall  have  seized   the   pillars   of  the    blood 
stained  fabric  which  despotism  has  reared,  and 
.like  another  Samson,   brought   it  to  the  ground. 
(Tremendous  cheers.)     Oh  !  it  was  something — 
-and  it  was  his  rich  reward — to  become  acquaint- 
ed with  men    in    a   distant   country,    having  one 
common  language   and   one   common   ancestry, 
working  with  us  in  the  same  common  cause  ;  it 
was  something  to  know  that  the  blue  waters  did 


68  MEETING    AT 

not  divide  us;  that  we  are  one  in  principle;  one 
in  faith  ;  one  in  effort ;  that  we  have  the  same 
common  object  in  this  world,  and  the  same  antic- 
ipation hereafter ;  it  was  something,  he  said,  to 
know  that  we  were  engaged  with  these  wise, 
holy,  and  uncompromising  men  in  America,  in 
accelerating  the  cause  of  Universal  Emancipa- 
tion. (Great  applause.)  It  was  not  alone  the 
cause  of  Anti-Slavery  in  which  he  was  embark- 
ed ;  it  was  the  cause  of  Anti-Ignorance — the 
cause  of  anti-every-thing  which  degrades,  crush- 
es, withers,  and  destroys  the  spirits  of  mankind. 
Again,  once  more  ;  the  question  was  interesting, 
because  in  its  developement  it  made  us  acquaint- 
ed with  the  men  and  women  engaged  in  it;  their 
principles  and  their  conduct;  and  thus  called 
upon  us  first  to  admire  them,  next  to  commend 
them,  next  to  imitate  them,  and  adopt  the  princi- 
ples by  which  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic 
they  advance  the  great  work.  The  Anti-Slavery 
question  in  this  country  was  very  different  from 
that  in  America;  the  struggle  was  never  so  sub- 
lime here  as  he  had  witnessed  in  America — our 
sacrifices  weie  never  so  great;  our  temptations 
to  swerve  were  never  so  strong;  our  interests 
when  at  the  closest  were  never  so  close,  as  in  the 
United  States.  It  was  never  necessary  that  we 
should  suffer  in  our  reputation  ;  that  we  should 
lose  our  friends  ;  the  value  of  our  property  dete- 
riorated ;  or  that  we  should  be  deprived  of  the 
substance  and  amount  of  our  profitable  trade. 
But  hard  as  this  was,  those  now  engaged  in  car- 
rying on  this  cause  in  America — men  and  women 
without  exception — were  subjected  to  it,  and  sus- 
tained by  high  religious  principle,  they  firmly 
bore  up  against  all  these  accumulated  evils : 
and  nothing  lower,  and   nothing  les3,  than  that 


EDINBURGH.  G9 

mighty  principle  could  sustain  thorn  in  a  cause, 
by  espousing  which  they  had  everything-  to  lose, 
and  nothing  hut  infamy  to  gain.  (Chpers.)  IJe 
stood  there  not  to  defame  America.  'Twas  true 
they  persecuted  him,  but  that  was  a  small  matter ; 
'twas  true  they  hunted  him  like  a  partridge  on  the 
mountains;  that  he  had  to  lecture  with  the  assas- 
sin's knife  glancing  before  his  eyes;  and  his  wife 
and  his  little  ones  in  danger  of  falling  by  the 
ruthless  hands  of  murderers.  All  this  was  true, 
and  much  more,  but  he  came  not  there  to  tell  of 
aught  that  he  had  suffered  or  done,  except  in  so 
far  as  it  illustrated  the  progress  of  the  mighty 
reformation  to  which  he  had  alluded.  (Cheers.) 
Tie  d:ired  not  speak  slightingly  of  America. 
'Twas  true  he  hated  her  sins — but  'twas  not  less 
true  he  loved  her  sons.  His  object  was  not  to 
overthrow  the  institutions  of  America,  and  bring 
her  constitution  into  disrepute.  Slavery  might 
sink,  and  that  constitution  still  live;  shivery 
mi'jht  fall,  and  that  constitution  stand  ;  slavery 
might  die  and  be  buried  in  a  grave  of  infamy, 
eovered  with  the  execrations  of  mankind,  and 
witness  no  resurrection  ;  yet  the  constitution  of 
America  might  stand  out  in  unsullied,  and  more 
than  pristine  beauty,  because  of  the  blessing  of 
the  world.  (Great  cheers.)  He  should  like  to 
have  an  opportunity  to  speak  of  America  in  oth- 
er respects  ;  to  speak  of  her  as  being  exalted  in 
arms,  and  as  rich  in  wealth  ;  to  speak  of  her  ex- 
tended commerce — of  her  agriculture — of  her  un- 
paralleled means  of  education  —  with  the  volume 
of  Revelntion  in  the  hands  of  all  her  families  but 
those  of  her  degraded  bondsmen  :  with  the  ordi- 
nances of  religion  in  abundance;  of  her  50,000 
ministers,  and  of  her  Missionary  exertions;  on 
all  those  he  could  dwell  with   pleasure,  after  bo 


4\J  MEETING    AT 

discussed  the  question  of  slavery.  But  the  dam- 
ning plague  spot  of  America,  Christian  America, 
Republican  America  ;  America,  the  land  ot'bibies, 
and  tracts,  and  missionary  societies  ;  America, 
who  boasted  herself  on  being  the  freest  country 
on  the  face  of  the  globe,  America  had  her  slave 
ships — types  of  Pandemonium — gliding  on  the 
surface  of  the  ocean,  and  put  forth  her  presump- 
tuous hand  and  traded  in  the  lives  and  the  souls 
of  men  !  (Cheers.)  Would  it  be  believed  that 
the  slaves  formed  a  sixth  part  of  the  American 
population;  every  sixth  man  and  woman  were 
slaves — their  bodies,  their  souls,  their  skill,  their 
energy,  their  posterity,  their  every  thing  was  un- 
der the  dominion  of  slavery. 

It  was  not  true  that  the  slave-trade  was  abol- 
ished in  America;  slave  auctions  were  still  to  be 
seen — men  and  women  were  still  to  be  seen  sold 
like  so  many  cattle.  It  was  to  abolish  that  system 
he  went  to  America.  He  did  not  deny  that  the 
weavers  of  Paisley,  that  the  peasantry  of  Ireland, 
and  many  others  of  our  countrymen  were  border- 
ing on  starvation.  He  could  not  deny  this  ;  but 
these  individuals,  poor  and  miserable  as  they  were, 
were  still  free  ;  to  them  the  wheel  of  fortune  was 
still  revolving;  the  starving  of  to-day  were  not 
the  starving  of  to-morrow  ;  hope  beamed  on  all  ; 
they  may  die,  but  they  bequeath  liberty  to  their 
children,  and  they,  guided  by  the  way-marks 
which  their  parents  had  missed — became  the  fa- 
vorites of  fortune,  and  rose  to  honor,  competence 
and  prosperity.  He  did  rot  seek  to  exempt  the 
slaves  from  poverty  :  he  wanted  only  to  give  them 
freedom.  (Great  cheering.)  But  this  was  not 
his  only  mission  to  America  ;  he  went  also  to  at- 
tack a  sin  not  surpassed  by  slavery — the  inherent 
prejudice  that  prevails   against  color.     So  deep 


EDINBURGH.  71 

was  this  prejudice,  that  the  colored  people  were 
denied  a  pew  in  the  church,  a  place  in  the  steam 
boat  or  coach  ;  his  body  is  even  denied  a  corner 
in  the  usual  place  of  repose  for  the  dead;  and 
they  would  deny  his  soul  a  place  in  heaven  if 
they  could.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  in  Amer- 
ica, is  to  plead  for  the  slave  as  for  a  man  ;  to  es- 
tablish his  title  to  humanity  ;  and  make  him  stand 
before  their  eyes  as  a  human  being.  There  was 
one  test  which  he  always  applied  to  a  man  about 
whose  title  to  the  full  honors  of  human  nature 
there  was  some  dispute.  He  asked  not  of  his 
clime,  his  color,  or  his  stature,  of  the  texture  of 
his  hair,  or  the  conformation  of  his  limb  ;  he  ask- 
ed not  if  he  issued  from  the  majestic  portals  of  a 
palace  or  from  the  humble  door  of  a  miserable 
wigwam — he  asked  but  one  question, — 'Could 
he  love  his  God?'  And  if  he  answered  that  in 
the  affirmative,  then  he  recognised  his  humanity, 
claimed  him  as  a  brother,  and  elevated  him  to  the 
position  which  he  himself  occupied.  (Tremend- 
ous cheering.)  Well,  how  did  he  go  to  Ameri- 
ca? He  went  without  name  and  without  influ- 
ence, and  without  wealth.  Well,  did  he  flatter 
them  ?  No.  He  could  not  call  them  the  freest 
people,  for  he  did  not  believe  it;  he  did  not  call 
them  the  wisest  people,  for  he  had  left  Edinburgh, 
and  he  could  not  say  so.  (Laughter  and  cheers.) 
After  describing  the  reception  he  had  received, 
Mr.  Thompson  proceeded  to  say,  he  had  been 
punned  upon,  sneered  at,  and  pitied.  Even  in 
Edinburgh,  he  understood,  he  had  been  called  an 
amiable  enthusiast — a  title  which  he  begged  to 
disclaim.  An  enthusiast  was  one  who  sought  to 
obtain  an  end  without  using  the  means  ;  and 
therefore  the  term  applied  more  to  the  person 


rZ  MEETING    AT 

that  used  it  than  to  him.  He  (Mr.  Thompson?) 
went  leaning  upon  the  arm  of  the  Almighty,  and 
trusting  in  the  enunciation  of  truth,  believing  that 
God  is  ever  with  the  truth,  and  that  truth  is  God. 
He  was  not  an  enthusiast,  therefore,  who  by  the 
enunciation  of  truth  seeks  to  overcome  prejudice^ 
and  interest,  and  superstition,  but  he  is  an  enthu* 
siast  who  seeks  those  ends  without  using  the 
means.  (Cheers.)  Mr.  T.  went  on  to  show  the 
degraded  state  of  the  American  slaves,  and  that 
even  Church  dignitaries  and  ministers  were  slave- 
holders. One  of  the  Professors,  he  said,  put  to 
some  slaves  the  revolting  question,  not  of  who  are 
are  you  ?    but  ivhose  are  you  ?     One  answered,  I 

belong  to  Mr. ,  and  another  said  I    am  Mr, 

such  a  one's,  and  another  said  I  am  the  Congre- 
gations. This  was  explained  by  stating  that  cer^ 
tain  pious  persons  bequeathed  their  slaves  to  the 
Church  by  way  of  endowment,  to  keep  up  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel!  And  it  was  well  known 
that  no  slaves  were  so  wretched  as  those  that  be- 
long to  the  Congregation,  which  arose  from  their 
being  hired  out  like  hacks  for  short  periods  of 
three  or  six  months  to  persons,  who,  having  no 
interest  in  their  future  welfare,  only  strived  how 
they  could  make  most  out  of  them  for  the  time.. 
He  affirmed  also  that  the  slaves  were  denied  the 
blessings  of  religion,  and  that  in  the  State  of  Lou- 
isiana the  second  '  offence  '  of  teaching  a  slave  to» 
read  the  Bible,  was  punished  with  death.  To 
show  that  the  slave  trade  still  existed,  he  stated 
that  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  license  for 
dealing  in  slaves  was  400  dollars,  and  that  the 
revenue  derivable  from  this  source  was  applied 
to  the  formation  of  canals  and  the  education  of 
the  white  youth  of  America,     In  this  same  dis- 


EDINBRRGH.  /J 

trict,  a  poor  man  was  taken  up  on  suspicion  of 
being1  a  slave  ;  he  was  advertised  as  such,  but  no 
one  came  forward  to  claim  him.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances what  did  his  oppressors  do  ?  Did 
they  give  him  compensation  for  false  imprison- 
ment? No,  he  he  was  put  up  to  public  auction, 
and  sold  to  be  a  slave  for  life  to  pay  his  jail  fees ! 
After  some  further  illustrations  of  American  sla- 
very, Mr.  Thompson  turned  from  what  he  called 
the  dark  side  of  the  picture,  nnd  showed  the  rap- 
id progress  which  the  principle  of  slave  abolition 
was  making  in  the  number  of  Societies  embarked 
in  the  cause,  and  the  extensive  funds  raised  in 
collections  for  promoting  it,  into  which  particu- 
lars we  have  neither  time  nor  space  to  enter. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  lecture,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Ritchie  stated  that  the  committee,  instead  of  call- 
ing upon  the  meeting  to  adopt  any  formal  reso- 
lutions on  that  occasion  respecting  the  character 
and  conduct  of  Mr.  Thompson,  considered  it  bet- 
ter to  draw  up  the  resolutions  leisurely,  and  brin<r 
them  forward  at  tbe  next  meeting. 

The  meeting  then  separated  about  half  past 
nine  o'clock. 


GEORGE    THOMPSON. 

This  highly  esteemed  and  intrepid  advocate  of  hu- 
man freedom,  arrived  in  this  city  last  Tuesday  even- 
ing, and  on  Wednesday  he  was  met  by  the  Ladies  and 
Gentlemen  forming  the  Committees  of  the  Edinburgh 
Emancipation  Society, in  the  Saloon  of  the  Royal  Hotel. 
The  statement  then  given  by  Mr.  Thompson  with 
regard  to  himself,  throughout  his  visit  to  the  United 
States,  was  to  every  one  present  far  more  than  satis- 
factory. Of  his  every  movement  they  highly  approv- 
ed, while  his  account  of  America  in  regard  to  the  sub- 
ject of  slavery,  and  the  pro-pect  of  its  ultimate  extinc- 
tion, was  at  once  deeply  affecting,  and  most  encourag- 
ing. At  the  close  of  his  narrative,  the  following  Res- 
olutions were  proposed,  and  unanimously  adopted  by 
both  the  Committees  in  union,  as  conveying  their  sen- 
timents on  the  first  occasion  on  which  they  enjoyed 
the  pleasure  of  meeting  with  their  friend. 

1.  That  it  is  with  feelings  of  sincere  delight  and 
satisfaction,  mingled  with  those  of  the  most  poignant 
regret,  that  we  have  listened  (o  the  statements  now 
given,  by  our  most  esteemed  friend,  Mr.  George 
Thompson — of  delight  and  satisfaction,  on  seeing  him- 
self amongst  us  once  more,  in  perfect  safety  and  in 
health — but  of  painful  regret  at  the  occasion  of  his 
returning  so  much  sooner  than  it  was  intended,  both  by 
himself  and  by  us,  from  the  United  States  of  America. 

2.  That  while  we  have  deprecated  from  the  begin- 
ning, as  we  now  do  once  more,  the  most  remote  idea  of 


MEETING    AT    EDINBURGH.  <  O 

interfering  with  any  single  state,  or  city,  or  village 
throughout  America,  in  the  arrangement  or  manage- 
ment ot  their  own  institutions,  still,  as  we  consider  it  at 
once  <m  act  of  duty  and  of  kindness,  to  hold  up  before 
all  men  the  great  principles  of  truth  and  justice,  and 
humanity,  and  regarding  as  we  do  the  prevalence  ot 
slavery,  to  involve  the  habitual  violation  of  a  law  infi- 
nitely above  all  human  arrangements;  we  cannot  but 
deeply  deplore,  that  in  a  country  where  our  comnwjn 
language  is  spoken,  and  loudly  demanding  to  be  ac- 
knowledged as  the  home  of  the  free,  the  spirit  of 
persecution  against  those  who  merely  plead  the  cause 
of  the  oppressed,  should  have  risen  to  a  height  which 
has  abridged,  il  not  endangered,  all  freedom  of  discus- 
sion. 

3.  That  as  God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of 
men  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  hath 
Himself  determined  also  the  bounds  of  their  habitation, 
we  regard  the  prejudice  against  color,  which  has  been 
nursed  and  cherished  for  ages  throughout  the  United 
States,  with  greater  pain  and  abhorrence  than  ever — 
as  not  merely  the  fruitful  and  disgusting  source  ot 
crime,  but  of  itself  alone  a  daring  and  contemptuous 
provocation  of  our  common  Creator  and  final  Judge. 

4.  That  the  signal  preservation  of  our  valued  friend 
Mr.  Thompson,  amidst  all  the  violence  and  malignity 
of  the  abettors  of  American  slavery,  and  the  measure 
of  success  by  which  his  faithful,  and  zealous,  and  un- 
wearied efforts  have  been  crowned,  call  alike  for  our 
devout  acknowledgments,  regarding  them  as  equal 
tokens  of  his  having  been  engaged  in  a  righteous 
cause  ;  and  that  we  can  now  entertain  no  doubt  of  the 
day  approaching  when,  far  from  being  stigmatised  as 
an  intruding  foreigner,  or  a  foe  to  harmony  and  peace, 
he  will  be  hailed  by  the  moral  and  upi  ight,  the  humnne 
and  christian  citizens  of  America,  a-  a  man  who  sought 
only  to  avert  a  catastrophe  from  which  his  native  land 
had  happiiy  been  delivered,  and  which  America,  with 
all  her  resources,  has  now  such  just  reasons  both  to 
dread  and  to  deprecate. 


76  MEETING    AT    EDINBURGH. 

5.  That  with  regard  to  the  great  cause  of  human 
freedom,  from  the  statements  given  by  Mr.  Thompson, 
as  well  as  from  other  sources  of  information  to  which 
we  have  had  access  during  his  absence,  even  in  the 
United  States  we  not  only  find  many  encouragements 
to  persevere,  but  in  the  pure  spirit  of  devotion  to  the 
cause  evinced  by  many  in  that  great  country,  we  dis- 
cover sufficient  ground  to  hope  that  the  progress  of 
America  towards  universal  emancipation,  will  proceed 
with  accelerated  steps  till  the  rod  of  the  oppressor 
shall  be  broken,  till  there  is  not  one  house  of  bondage 
on  her  6oil,  and  America,  in  the  judgment  of  other 
nations,  becomes  fairly  entitled  to  her  claim  of  being 
the  Land  of  the  Free. 

6.  That  with  feelings  of  strong  sympathy,  respect, 
and  increased  affection  towards  all  those  American 
citizens,  both  male  and  female,  who,  far  from  shrink- 
ing, have  remained  firm  and  undaunted, — we  feel 
called  upon  to  remember  them  before  the  God  of 
righteousness  and  peace,  with  whom  all  the  swellings 
of  human  passion  are  as  nothing,  that  He  may  continue 
to  preserve  them,  and  enable  us  to  persevere  in  the 
great  cause  of  universal  emancipation,  to  which  we 
now  stand,  more  than  ever,  bound  to  adhere. 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  thanks  were  returned 
to  God,  for  his  most  merciful  preservation  of  Mr. 
Thompson  and  his  family,  as  well  as  their  safe  return, 
after  his  having  accomplished  so  much  in  such  a  lim* 
fted  period, 


MR.  THOMPSON'S 
SECOND  LECTURE. 

On  Monday  evening,  an  adjourned  meeting  or 
the  members  and  friends  of  the  Edinburgh  Eman- 
cipation Society,  took  place  in  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Browne's  Chapel,  Broughton  Place,  to  hear  Mr. 
George  Thompson  deliver  his  second  address  on 
the  subject  of  his  anti-slavery  mission  to  the 
United  States  of  America.  The  Church  was  full, 
but  the  number  present  was  not  so  great  as  at 
the  last  lecture — probably  from  the  price  of  the 
tickets  having  been  raised — Mr.  John  Wigham, 
jun.  was  again  called  to  the  chair. 

Mr.  Thompson,  who,  on  his  appearance  in  the 
pulpit,  was  rapturously  applauded  as  usual,  pro- 
ceeded to  take  up  the  subject  where  he  had  left 
off  on  the  former  night.  He  went  on  to  describe 
the  fierce  opposition  which  the  question  and  its 
supporters  had  met  with  from  the  Americans. — 
He  stated,  that  the  Senate  of  Georgia  had  offer- 
ed a  reward  of  5000  dollars  for  the  head  of  Mr. 
\V.  L.  Garrison,  for  promulgating  what  was  de- 
scribed in  the  American  constitution  as  self-evi- 
dent truths,  that  God  made  all  men  equal,  and 


78  MEETING    AT 

endowed  them  with  equal  rights,  any  infringement 
of  which,  obedience  to  the  laws  of  nature  and  of 
God  called  upon  them  to  resist.  These  doctrines 
the  Americans  were  the  first  to  enunciate  to  the 
world,  and  yet  the  Senate  of  Georgia  offered 
5000  dollars  for  the  head  of  Mr.  Garrison,  for  ad- 
vocating them.  Mr.  T.  then  described  the  dis- 
turbances which  took  place  in  New-York,  in  the 
month  of  July,  1834,  in  consequence  of  an  anti- 
slavery  meeting  having  taken  place,  at  which  a 
few  colored  people  attended.  The  mob,  he  said, 
rose  upon  them,  and  governed  the  city  for  three 
days  and  nights;  a  great  deal  of  property  was 
destroyed  ;  the  houses  of  the  most  respectable 
citizens  sacked  ;  and  a  catalogue  of  outrages  per- 
petrated which  would  take  him  all  the  evening 
but  to  refer  to.  Riots  of  asimilar  description  had 
also  taken  place  at  several  other  places.  Such 
was  the  state  of  things  when  he  went  to  America. 
For  several  months  his  labors  in  the  Northern 
States  excited  little  attention.  Several  paragraphs 
concerning  him  appeared  in  the  Northern  papers, 
but  the  papers  in  the  Southern  States  carefully 
excluded  all  notice  of  his  movements.  In  the 
month  of  May  following  his  arrival,  however,  a 
large  meeting  of  the  National  Anti-Slavery  So- 
ciety took  place  in  New- York,  at  which  the  Re- 
port of  the  Society  was  read.  This  Report,  which 
gave  an  account  of  no  fewer  than  250  active  aux- 
iliary Societies,  scattered  up  and  down  the  coun- 
try, fell  like  a  thunder-bolt  upon  the  pro-slavery 
advocates.  They  rose  like  one  man,  with  the 
determination  of  pulling  down  the  abolitionists 
by  every  m^ans  in  their  power;  and  mutilation, 
plunder,  and  murder,  became  the  order  of  the  day 
throughout  more  than  half  of  the  United  States. 
The  mail-bags  were  rifled  in  open  day ;   and  no 


EDINBURGH. 


79 


vessel  was  allowed  to  send  their  letters  to  the 
post-office  without  the  previous  inspection  of  the 
*  Committee  of  Vigilance,'  which  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  the  mob  ;  and  every  paper,  letter,  and 
pamphlet  in  any  way  bearing  upon  the  abolition 
question,  was  seized  and  destroyed. 

Mr.  Thompson  read  numerous  quotations  from 
the  anti-abolition  newspapers,  to  shew  the  abu- 
sive language  which  was  applied  to  the  advocates 
of  slave  emancipation,  whom  they  recommended 
should  all  be  hanged,  or  otherwise  disposed  of 
in  an  equally  summary  manner.  The  quotation 
of  the  liberal  motto's  of  some  of  these  papers, 
along  with  the  intolerant  sentiments  of  their  lead- 
ing articles,  created  considerable  sensation  in  the 
meeting,  as  indeed  did  the  whole  of  the  details 
of  the  disgraceful  conduct  of  the  pro-slavery  ad- 
vocates in  that  land  of  boasted  freedom.  He 
stated  that  a  Grand  Jury  in  the  county  of  Fred- 
erick, had  presented  the  Anti-Slavery  Society 
and  the  colored  population,  as  nuisances  that 
ought  to  be  abated  by  every  possible  means  ;  and 
a  Grand  Jury  in  Alabama  had  voted  Geo.  Thomp- 
son a  nuisance,  (great  laughter,)  along  with  J.  G. 
Birney,  W.  L.  Garrison,  Arthur  Tappan,  and 
Daniel  O'Connell,  the  great  Irish  orator— (renew- 
ed laughter  and  cheers)— for  impertinent  and  un- 
authorized interference  with  the  slaveholders  in 
America.  Mr.  T.  remarked  that  one  part  of  the 
American  constitution — the  liberty  of  speech,  and 
the  liberty  of  the  press — was  held  to  be  unalter- 
able by  Congress  ;  notwithstanding  which,  there 
was  nothing  more  common  than  for  public  meet- 
ings to  recommend  the  legislature  to  put  down 
certain  prints,  and  to  put  to  death  certain  individ- 
uals, who  advocated  the  right  of  the  slave,  and 
put  up  their  voice  in  behalf  of  the  oppressed. — 


©U  MEETING    AT 

He  had  also  to  arraign  the  Christian  ministers  of 
America  as  the  most  efficient  supporters  of  sla- 
very— (cries  of  'shame.')  He  blushed  to  bring 
that  charge  forward  ;  but  they  would  not  have  a 
proper  view  of  American  slavery  without  it.— 
They  had  to  hear  perhaps  for  the  first  time,  that 
the  ministers  and  elders  of  the  respective  bodies 
of  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Methodists  and  Con- 
gregationaiists,  were  the  main  pillars  of  that  biood 
stained  fabric  which  it  was  the  object  of  the  abo- 
litionists to  pull  down — (repeated  cries  of  shame.) 
If  these  parties  would  withdraw  their  counten- 
ance from  slavery,  if  they  would  cease  to  preach 
the  doctrines  they  now  preach  ;  if  they  would 
cease  to  participate  in  the  gains  of  the  system 
by  which  God's  image  is  bought  and  sold  in  Amer- 
ica, slavery  would  not  remain  one  year.  (Great 
cheering.)  This  was  a  grave  charge,  and  might 
appear  strange  to  them,  but  that  was  not  his  fault, 
but  the  fault  of  the  Americans,  and  the  fault  of 
Englishmen  who  had  gone  there,  and  come  back 
here,  and  said  nought  about  it.  (Cheers.)  There 
wa3  no  want  of  persons  to  toll  all  that  was  good 
about  America,  but  why  did  they  not  give  both 
sides  of  the  question  ?  It  was  time  that  men 
should  learn  to  tell  not  only  the  truth  but  the 
whole  truth.  While  he  should  be  ready  to  give 
America  praise  for  being  before  us  in  many 
things,  in  this  he  must  say  they  were  far  behind 
us,  in  that  the  clergy  of  all  denominations  were 
not  only  with  the  oppressor  in  sentiment,  but  were 
found  the  worst  of  oppressors.  Mr.  Thompson 
then  went  at  some  length  into  the  proof  of  these 
charges,  of  which  it  will  be  sufficient  for  us  to 
say,  that  it  was  ample  and  unequivocal  enough  in 
all  conscience.  He  then  proceeded  to  change 
the  picture,  and  to  show  the  astonishing  altera- 


EDINBURGH.  81 

tion  which  had  been   effected  recently,  and  the 
rapid  progress  which  the  cause  was  still  making. 
More  than  1000  ministers  had  already  renounced 
their  sentiments,  and  declared  themselves  in  favor 
ofimmediate  emancipation, (cheers.)    There  were 
already  no  fewer  than   320  societies  established 
in  14  or  15  of  the    American  States.     So  great 
was  the  change   among  the  Presbyterian   body, 
that  many  Synods  and  Presbyteries  were  making 
abolition  sentiments  a  condition  of  church  mem- 
bership ;  and  were  refusing  to  allow  a  minister, 
being  a  slaveholder,  to  mount  their  pulpits.  (Great 
cheering.)      An   equally  gratifying  change  had 
been  effected  in  the  sentiments  of  the   Episcopal 
Methodists,  the  Baptists,  and   Congregation alists, 
large  numbers  of  whom  were  already  acting  effi- 
ciently in  the  cause.     The  Unitarians  were  also 
rising  in  favor  of  the  question  ;  and  the  celebrat- 
ed Dr.  Channing   had  recently  come  out  with  a 
work  in  favor  of  immediate  and  entire  emancipa 
tion.     One  of  the  most  cheering  evidences  of  the 
progress  of  the  cause  was  perhaps   to  be    found 
in  the   fact,  that  many   of  the  students   in   the 
colleges  and  seminaries  of  learning  in  America, 
were  abolitionists.     (Cheers.)     Mr.  T.   also  pro- 
duced a  number  of  newspapers  which  were  favor- 
able to  the  cause,  besides  monthly  and  quarterly 
periodicals,  annual?,  and  even  almanacs  of  every 
shape  and  size.     There  were  also,  he   said,  anti- 
slavery  pictures  and   poetry  published;  anti-sla- 
very fancy  sales  held  ;  and  petitions  got  up  in  all 
parts  of  the  north.     There  were  also  anti-slavery 
church  Conferences,  and  prayer  meetings  in  abun- 
dance ;  and  50  anti-slavery  agents  were   travel- 
ling through  the   country  and   lecturing   on  the 
subject.     In  this  country  wo  had  never  had  above 
tour  or  five   agents.     Mr.  Thompson   concluded 


82  MEETING    AT 

by  earnestly  urging  upon  one  and  all  the  neces- 
sity of  being  active  in  the  work  of  universal 
emancipation,  by  prayer  to  God,  by  the  exersise 
of  their  personal  influence  with  their  friends  in 
America,  and  with  the  Americans  who  come  to 
this  country.  Seven  years  he  believed  would  not 
elapse  ere  slavery  would  be  abolished  in  America 
— for  the  die  was  already  cast,  the  blow  w;is 
struck,  the  day  had  dawned  :  and  so  sure  as  God 
reigns,  so  sure  would  the  principles  which  He 
had  already  blessed — so  marvellously  blessed — 
so  surely  would  those  principles  overthrow  the 
accursed  system  of  slavery.     (Great  cheering.) 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Ritchie  then  moved  a  series  of 
resolutions,  which  were  seconded  by  Mr.  R.  Al- 
exander, Leith,  and  unanimously  carried. 

The  meeting  then  adjourned  till  Wednesday 
evening. 

RESOLUTIONS. 

The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  members  and 
friends  of  the  Edinburgh  Emancipation  Society, 
held  in  Dr.  Brown's  Chapel,  Broughton  Place, 
on  Monday,  1st  February,  1836,  immediately  after 
an  Address  by  Mr.  George  Thompson,  giving  a 
detail  of  his  late  visit  to  the  United  States. 

John  Wigham,  Jr.  Esq.,  in  the  Chair. 

1.  After  what  has  been  now  and  formerly  stat- 
ed by  Mr.  George  Thompson,  we  are  fully  per- 
suaded that  he  has  in  spirit,  procedure,  and  suc- 
cess, exceeded  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of 
the  Emancipation  Society — that  by  his  firmness 
and  prudence,  zeal  and  perseverance  in  advocat- 
ing the  cause  of  the  bondsmen  in  the   United 


EDINBURGH.  S3 

States,  lie  has  amply  redeemed  every  pledge  giv- 
en by  him  to  the  friends  of  human  freedom,  by 
whom  he  was  deputed — that,  amidst  obloquy,  peril, 
and  physical  violence,  he  continued  to  persevere 
until,  by  the  verdict  of  transatlantic  friends,  the 
best  judges  in  this  matter,  his  remaining  longer 
would,  without  promoting  the  cause,  have  com- 
promised his  own  safety.  We  acknowledge  the 
good  hand  of  Providence  that  has  been  around 
him,  bid  him  cordial  welcome  to  his  native  shore, 
renew  our  expressions  of  confidence  in  him  as  a 
talented  advocate  of  the  liberties  of  man,  and 
trust  that  a  suitable  field  may  soon  be  opened  for 
the  renewal  of  his  exertions. 

2.  We  deeply  sympathize  with  our  anti-slavery 
friends  in  the  United  States,  under  the  persecu- 
tions to  which  they  have  been  subjected.  We 
would  remind  them,  that  their  persecutors  are  the 
libellers  of  the  American  Constitution,  which 
proclaims  the  equal  rights  of  all  mpn,  while  they 
withhold  from  2,000,000  of  their  fellow-citizens 
every  natural  right,  and  persecute  the  preachers 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  Constitution.  That  they 
are  the  libellers  of  their  Maker,  since  they  found 
their  injustice  on  that  color  of  the  skin  which 
God  has  given  to  the  negro.  That  in  this,  if  in 
any  cause,  our  friends  may  boldly  say,  greater  is 
1  He  that  is  with  us,  than  all  that  can  be  against 
US.'  We  congratulate  them  on  the  rapid  advance 
of  their  cause,  exhort  them  to  press  onwards,  and 
bid  them  God  speed. 

3.  We  remember  with  delight  the  claims  of 
common  parentage,  language  and  interests,  and 
rejoice  in  the  many  institutions,  religious  and 
philanthropic,  by  which  America  is  signalized; 
and  view  with  corresponding  regret  and  condem- 
nation, the  support  given  to  slavery  by  Christian 


84  MEETING    AT    EDINBURGH. 

professors,  ministers,  and  churches,  and  would 
adjure  them  by  our  common  Christianity  and  the 
public  shame,  thus  put  upon  it,  to  weigh  their 
conduct  in  the  balance  of  the  sanctuary— to  give 
up  their  horrid  traffic  in  the  bodies  and  souls  of 
men — to  put  away  from  among  them  the  accursed 
thing,  to  redeem  the  past,  by  awaking  to  righteous- 
ness, by  emancipating  and  evangelizing  their  sa- 
ble fellow-citizens,  and  thus  do  homage  to  Him 
who  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men. 

4.  For  ourselves,  we  hail  the  speedy  answer  of 
our  prayers,  and  realization  of  our  hopes,  in  the 
emancipation  of  all  the  slaves  in  the  United  States 
— we  discern  it  in  the  fears  and  wrath  of  the 
slaveholders — in  the  absence  of  moral  argument, 
and  in  the  melancholy  substitute,  riot  and  blood- 
shed. We  descry  it  in  the  labors  of  a  Garrison, 
the  sacrifices  of  a  Tappan,  the  fermenting  leaven 
of  Theological  Seminaries,  the  christian  heroism 
of  female  advocates,  and  in  the  3"20  Anti-Slavery 
Societies  that  have  grown  to  maturity  within  the 
short  space  of  a  year,  and  especially  in  the  moral 
character  of  the  cause  as  that  of  Truth — of  Pat- 
riotism— of  Man — of  God — and  we  pledge  our- 
selves, by  every  moral  and  Scriptural  motive,  to 
adjure  every  friend  of  ours  beyond  the  Atlantic, 
and  all  that  may  occasionally  visit  our  land,  to 
use  every  exertion  to  bring  to  a  speedy  and  peace- 
ful termination,  a  system  so  fearfully  anomalous 
and  sinful,  and  Heaven-provoking  in  a  land  where 
Gospel  light  so  much  abounds — for  the  past,  we 
thank  God,  and  for  the  future  we  take  and  bid  all 
others  take  courage. 

JOHN  WIGHAM,  Jr.,  Chairman, 


PUBLIC    MEETING 

AT  EDINBURGH,  SCOTLAND. 

February  8,  1836. 
AMERICAN  SLAVERY. 

On  Monday,  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabit- 
ants was  held  in  the  large  Waterloo  Room,  Re- 
gent Bridge,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  their 
sense  of  the  evils  of  Slavery,  as  it  exists  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  The  Lord  Provost 
■was  called  to  the  chair.  On  the  platform,  we 
observed  the  Honorable  Henry  David  Erskine  ; 
Rev.  Drs.  Dickson,  Peddie,  and  Ritchie  ;  Rev. 
Messrs.  Gray,  Bennie,  Liddle,  Johnston,  French, 
C.  Anderson,  *Robertson,  Innes,  Peddie,  Gould, 
W.  Anderson,  Wilkes,  Alexander,  Thomson, 
&c.  ;  James  Crawford  and  James  Moncrieff,  Esqs. 
advocates  ;  Bailies  Macfarlan  and  Sawers  ;  Trea- 
surer Black  ;  Councillors  Duncan,  Jameson,  and 
Deuchar,  Dr.  Greville,  G.  M.  Torrance,  Esq.  of 
IfCilsaintninian  ;  William  Wemyss,  Esq. ;  A.Mil- 
lar, Esq.  Master  of  Merchant  Company  ;  Patrick 
Tennant,  Esq.  W.  S. ;  Henry  Tod,  Esq.  W.  S.;; 
Captain  Rose;  John  Wigham,  Jim.  Esq.;  Alex. 
Cruickshank,  Esq.;  Geo.  Thompson,  Esq.;  and 
between  40  and  50  other  gentlemen. 

The  Lord  Provost  shortly  stated  the  objects  of 
the  meeting,  declaring  that  it  had  no  nartv  ob- 
8 


86  MEETING    AT 

ject  in  view,  and  was  simply  to  be  confined  to  the 
objects  which  was  set  forth  in  the  placard. 

Mr.  Crawford,  advocate,  then  rose  and  said  he 
had  been  requested  to  move  the  first  resolution, 
and  while  he  regretted  that  it  had  not  fallen  to 
the  lot  of  some  one  more  competent  to  do  it  jus- 
tice, he  claimed  this  much  of  merit  for  himself, 
that  no  one  could  do  it  more  sincerely  or  more 
cordially.  (Cheers.)  He  begged  to  read  the 
resolution,  for  he  thought  that  the  mere  reading 
of  it  would  relieve  him  from  the  necessity  of 
making  many  remarks. 

Resolved,  That  this  Meeting  consider  slavery  un- 
der every  modification,  and  in  every  country,  as  op- 
posed to  the  dictates  of  humanity,  the  prosperity  of 
nations,  and  especially  to  the  principles  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  That  deeply  sensible  of  their  obliga- 
tions to  Providence  for  removing  from  this  nation  the 
stigma  of  maintaining  slavery,  this  Meeting  feel  call- 
ed on,  as  free  citizens  of  a  Christian  State,  to  use  eve- 
ry lawful  means  for  promoting  the  entire  abolition  of 
slavery  in  every  quarter  of  the  world. 

He  could  not  commence  his  address,  without 
expressing  the  gratification  he  felt,  at  seeing  so 
very  numerous  and  respectable  a  meeting  assem- 
bled on  that  interesting  occasion.  It  was  en- 
couraging and  in  the  highest  degree  refreshing, 
to  see  men  of  every  variety  of  christian  persua- 
sion, and  of  every  shade  of  political  opinion,  for- 
getting all  minor  differences,  and  meetingon  that 
occasion  on  a  common  ground,  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  a  common  principle,  and  for  the  promo- 
tion of  a  common  cause  ;  and  it  was  one  of  the 
many  excellent  consequences  which  resulted 
from  meetings  like  the  present,  that  is  tended  to 
smooth  the   asperities  and  sweeten  the    inter- 


EDINBURGH.  87 

course  of  society,  by  reminding  each  other  of  the 
points  upon  which  we  are  agreed,  and  teaching 
us  charity  respecting  points  upon  which  we  dif- 
fer. (Great  cheers.)  The  learned  gentleman 
then  proceeded  to  say  that  the  time  was  not  long 
gone  by,  since  the  question  they  were  then  met 
to  consider  presented  itself  in  a  very  different 
aspect.  Many  then  present  might  remember  the 
time  when  the  slave  trade  itself,  with  all  the  abom- 
inations attending  on  it,  was  encouraged,  sanc- 
tioned and  protected  by  British  law ;  and  when 
those  who  ventured  to  assail  it  were  derided  as 
visionary  dreamers,  and  idle  enthusiasts;  yet  in 
course  of  time,  a  patriotic  government  put  down 
the  slave  trade  for  ever.  (Cheers.)  A  degrad- 
ing system  of  slavery,  however,  continued  to  ex- 
ist in  our  West  India  colonies  until  a  very  recent 
date  ;  and  when  Britons  met  to  express  their  hor- 
ror at  the  evils  of  slavery  and  the  guilt  of  slave- 
ry, they  met  to  condemn  themselves ;  they  met  to 
denounce  a  system  in  the  maintenance  of  which 
they  themselves  participated,  they  met  to  sympa- 
thize with  the  bondage  and  degradation  which 
they  aided  in  perpetuating.  But  at  length  the 
cry  of  800,000  human  beings  kept  by  this  coun- 
try in  a  state  of  bondage,  awakened  public  feel- 
ing; and  a  small  but  patriotic  band,  burning  to 
wipe  away  that  stain  from  our  country,  and  anx- 
ious to  vindicate  our  outraged  humanity,  com- 
menced a  system  of  agitation  against  slavery. 
(Great  cheers.)  The  learned  gentleman  then  al- 
luded to  the  unwearied  efforts  of  Wilberforce  and 
his  friends,  whose  labors  had  happily  been  crown- 
ed with  triumphat  success,  by  the  passing  of  the 
British  Colonial  Slave  Emancipation  Act  two 
years  ago — the  noblest  enactment  which  a  Min- 
ister ever  proposed,  or  a  Monarch  ever  sanction- 


08  MEETING    AT 

ed — an   enactment  which  had  wiped  away   the 
stain  from  the  character  of  British  justice,  and  by 
which  the  plague  spot  which  rested  on  our  con- 
stitution, had  been  destroyed  forever;  and  now 
the  sun  saw  not  one  single  slave  within  our  wide 
realms.     (Great   cheering.)      The  peaceful  and 
satisfactory  working  of  that  measure  too,  had  put 
to  silence  the  evil  forebodings  which  were  utter- 
ed respecting  its   effects.     The   latest  accounts 
proved  that  these  colonies  were  never  more  pros- 
perous; that  the  laborers  never  more  contented  ; 
and  that  moral  and  religious  improvement  were 
never    making    such    rapid    progress.       (Great 
cheers.)     He  might  also   state    what  had   only 
lately  come  to  his  knowledge,  that  his  Majesty's 
Government  had  granted  the  handsome  sum  of 
£10,000  to  be  expended  in  educating  the  eman- 
cipated negroes  in  our  West  India  colonies ;  an 
apt  and  beautiful  sequel  to  the  good  work  which 
they  had  formerly  accomplished.     (Great  cheers.) 
After  we   have  succeeded  therefore  in  accom- 
plishing the  successful   issue  of  slavery  in  this 
country  were  we  to  sit  still,  to  wait  calmly,  and 
see  slavery  in  its  most  unmitigated  form  main- 
tained   in    America?     (Cheers.)     He   admitted 
there  were  some  views  of  this  question,  in  which 
they  were  not  entitled  to  express  their  opinions 
on  the  subject  of  American  slavery.     There  were 
two  classes  of  men  who  had  no  such  right.  Those 
of  our  countrymen  who  viewed  the  question  of 
slavery  as  one  of  worldly  policy,  had  no  right  to 
interfere  with  slavery  in  America.     On  the  other 
hand,  there  was  a  class  of  persons  who  were  now 
loud  in  protesting  against  American  slavery,  who 
had  never  protested    against   it  in  this  country, 
who  now  joined  in  the  cry  against  slavery,  not 
because  they  abhorred  it,  but  because  they   dis- 


EDINBURGH.  89 

liked  America.  (Hear,  hear,  and  cheers.)  With 
neither  of  these  classes  of  men  did  he  mean  to 
co-operate.  So  far  from  entering  on  the  ques- 
tion, from  dislike  to  America,  he  considered  ihe 
laws  and  institutions  of  that  country  as  vener- 
able in  the  eyes  of  England  ;  and  that  the  land 
of  Washington,  Franklin,  Jay,  Abbot  and  Chan- 
ning,  could  never  be  otherwise  than  interesting 
to  us.  (Cheers.)  It  was  for  the  sake  of  Ameri- 
ca herself,  that  he  protested  against  slavery  as 
being  to  them  as  it  had  been  to  us,  a  clog  upon 
its  future  career  of  improvement  and  as  being 
enough  to  call  down  the  vengeance  of  heaven 
upon  them,  for  maintaining  so  foul  a  crime. 
(Great  cheers.)  It  was  not  because  of  its  impol- 
icy and  inexpediency  however,  or  of  its  inconsist- 
ence with  republican  institutions,  or  even  with 
humanity,  that  he  would  feel  himself  entitled  to 
interfere  with  America.  It  was  from  a  deep  con- 
viction of  the  sinfulness  of  slavery,  that  he  con- 
sidered we  were  entitled  to  enter  upon  the  ques- 
tion. (Cheers.)  There  were  others  present,  far 
better  able  than  he  was,  who  would  explain  how 
grievously  inconsistent  slavery  was  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  religion.  He  might  point  to  many  such 
expressions  in  the  scriptures  as  'the  bondage  of 
sin  '  and  '  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God,' 
to  show  that  slavery  must  be  something  exceed- 
ingly detestable  when  it  was  used  to  express  the 
heinousness  of  sin  ;  and  that  liberty  must  be  some- 
thing inexpressibly  delightful  when  it  is  employ- 
ed to  denote  the  blessings  and  the  value  of  holi- 
ness. (Great  cheering.)  He  might  also  explain, 
that  no  sooner  did  the  principles  of  Christianity 
enter  into  the  breast  of  men,  than,  if  a  slave,  he 
panted  and  burned  for  freedom:  and  that,  if  not 
a  slave,  no  sooner  did  the  principles  of  religion 
8* 


90  MEETING    AT 

enter  into  his  breast,  than  he  panted  to  bestow 
freeaom  upon  all  the  human  race.  He  might 
also  advert  to  that  simple  and  beautiful  rule, 
'  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto 
you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them ; '  a  rule  which  ex- 
cluded every  man  from  having-  a  slave  who  was 
not  willing  himself  to  become  one — but  without 
entering  on  these  grounds,  he  would  take  up  the 
single  argument,  that  the  Americans  founded  ev- 
ery one  of  their  own  rights  upon  the  equality  of 
man  ;  and  he  would  say,  where  was  their  boast- 
ed freedom  and  equality  when  the  independent 
citizens  were  seen  planting  their  foot  on  the 
prostrate  body  of  his  fellow-men  on  account  of 
his  difference  of  color?  (Cheers.)  After  some 
farther  remarks  to  the  same  effect,  the  learned 
gentleman  concluded  by  remarking,  that  if  we 
wished  to  be  successful  we  must  proceed  to  our 
great  duty  by  proper  means,  for  that  he  alone  was 
a  freeman  whom  the  truth  made  free,  and  all  were 
slaves  beside.     (Great  cheering.) 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Bennie  then  rose  to  second  the 
resolution  brought  forward  by  Mr.  Crawford.  He 
said  he  had  great  pleasure  in  meeting  his  fellow- 
citizens  to  declare  his  abhorrence  of  the  sin  and 
misery  of  slavery  ;  and  yet  he  could  not  suppress 
a  feeling  of  shame  to  think  that,  after  all  that  was 
done  to  improve  society,  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
human  mind,  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  it 
was  still  necessary  to  repeat,  to  justify  and  de- 
fend the  proposition,  that  '  Man  is  free,  and  that 
his  fellow  man  has  and  can  have  no  right  of 
property  in  him.'  (Great  cheering.)  There  were 
some  questions  of  so  complex  and  subtle  a  na- 
ture, that  men  of  the  calmest  judgment  and  the 
most  candid  temper  might  reasonably  differ;  but 
most  certainly  slavery   was  not  one  of  these — 


EDINBURGH.  91 

upon  that  question,  every  man  was  qualified  to 
judge.  The  Rev.  Gentleman  then  proceeded  to 
show  that  slavery,  under  whatever  modification  it 
might  exist,  was  subversive  of  morality  and  re- 
ligion— was  opposed  to  the  dictates  of  humanity 
— brutalized  the  people — placed  a  barrier  against 
the  progress  of  knowledge,  and  consequently  a- 
gainst  the  improvement  of  society.  After  refer- 
ring to  the  struggle  which  had  taken  place  in  this 
country  upon  slavery,  and  its  triumphant  success, 
lie  said  still  there  were  many  parts  of  the  world 
where  slavery  prevailed,  and  though  he  did  not 
wish  to  mingle  political  feelings  with  moral  and 
religious  sentiments,  yet  he  could  not  help  say- 
ing that  the  existence  of  slavery  in  a  land  call- 
ing itself  free,  rendered  the  name  of  liberty  dis- 
trusted, and  the  boast  of  it  disgusting.  (Cheers.) 
In  sitting  down,  ho  would  say  that  they  ought  not 
to  rest  till  every  link  of  the  fetters  had  ceased  to 
clink  upon  the  heels  of  every  slave,  for 

'  'Tib  liberty  alone 
That  gives  to  life  its  verdure  and  perfume, 
And  we  are  weeds  without  it.'     (Great  cheering.) 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Alexander,  of  Argyle  Square 
Chapel,  moved  the  second  resolution. 

Resolved,  That  this  Meeting  view  with  sincere  re- 
gret the  existence  of  unmitigated  Slavery  in  Ameri- 
ca, a  country  connected  with  Grent  Britain  by  many 
interesting  ties  ;  and  conceive  it  to  be  their  duty  pub- 
licly to  express  their  sentiments  on  the  subject,  and 
to  record  their  detestation  of  this  inhuman  and  un- 
christian system. 

He  would  not  take  up  their  time  with  any  re- 
marks on  the  evils  of  slavery,  in  general,  that 
having  been  well  handled  by  the  Rev.  Gentleman 


92  MEETING    AT 

who  had  preceded  him.  He  wished  to  argue  th« 
question  of  American  slavery  upon  the  ground  of 
our  common  humanity.  He  admitted  that  the 
strongest  ground  was  our  common  Christianity  ; 
but  he  still  thought  they  might  speak  to  the  Ame- 
ricans on  the  ground  of  their  common  humanity, 
and  take  up  the  question  as  one  of  pity  and  kind- 
ness. They  were  entitled  to  say  to  the  Ameri- 
cans— I  am  a  man,  bearing  within  my  breast  a 
human  heart— nothing  connected  with  humanity 
is  foreign  to  me — I  am  an  English  Gentleman  ; 
and  by  these  ties  I  am  bound  to  defend  the  weak- 
er party — I  am  bound  to  stand  forth  in  the  de- 
fence of  woman — the  weaker  party  is  oppressed 
by  you — woman  is  degraded,  insulted,  tortured. 
Tell  me  not  of  the  Atlantic  that  rolls  between  us 
— my  spirit  passes  over  the  Atlantic  ;  tell  me  not 
of  your  constitution — I  tear  your  charter  to 
pieces.  (Great  cheering.)  I  speak  as  man  to 
man  ;  you  have  no  right  to  lacerate  my  feelings  ; 
withhold  your  hand  :  as  long  as  there  is  might  in 
my  arm,  and  power  in  my  tongue,  smite  not  my 
brother,  smite  not  my  sister.  (Great  cheering.) 
He  would  not  describe  the  horrors  of  American 
slavery,  though  slavery  never  wore  a  darker  form 
than  in  America,  but  he  would  ask  who  taught 
America  the  abominable  traffic  in  human  flesh  ? 
It  was  Britain.  We  had  no  objection  atone  time 
to  barter  our  slaves  for  their  coffee ;  and  it  beho- 
ved us,  therefore,  as  a  matter  of  justice  to  un- 
teach  them  what  we  had  so  unjustly  taught  them. 
(Loud  cheers.)  But  it  might  be  asked,  will  Ame- 
rica listen  to  us  whpn  we  speak?  Aye,  that  she 
will — the  voice  of  Britain  is  not  so  weak  but  that 
h^r  voice  will  be  heard  across  the  Atlantic. 
(Great  cheers.)  We  could  hardly  calculate,  he 
said,  the  influence  which  the  expression  of  En- 


EDINBURGH.  })ti 

glish  feeling  had  upon  the  Americans.  Talk  of 
having  no  influence ! — There  was  not  a  speech 
made  in  our  Parliament  with  reference  to  Ame- 
rica, which  did  not  go  from  end  to  end  of  that 
mighty  country,  and  produce  an  influence  which 
the  speeches  of  no  other  nation  could  produce. 
In  conclusion,  the  Rev.  Gentleman  remarked, 
that  America  was  full  of  incongruities  upon  this 
subject.  She  was  at  once  a  land  of  Bibles  and 
of  blood — a  land  of  Christianity  and  of  cruelty — 
a  land  of  missions  and  murders — a  land  which 
boasted  of  unbroken  freedom,  and  yet  where  man 
placed  his  foot  upon  the  neck  of  man.  Such  a 
state  of  things  could  not  long  continue. 

Mr.  MoncriefF,  advocate,  seconded  the  motion. 
In  urging  the  principle  of  abolition  upon  other 
nations,  we  were  not  speaking  of  evils  which  we 
had  never  known — we  were  not  preaching  tenets 
which  we  had  not  ourselves  practised  ;  nor  did 
we  advise  a  system,  the  dangers  and  consequen- 
ces of  which  we  had  not  already  encountered. 
It  might  be  said  that  this  meeting  would  have  no 
effect  on  America.  He  did  not  care,  so  far  as 
they  were  individually  concerned.  It  was  at 
least  a  relief  to  his  conscience,  to  testify  to  the 
truth,  though  it  should  have  no  effect  at  all.  It 
was  still  the  duty  of  every  Christian  man,  on  eve- 
ry opportunity,  to  protest  against  the  guilty  phan- 
tasy, that  man  could  hold  property  in  man.  It 
was  true  that  slavery  still  existed  in  many  parts 
of  the  world  ;  but  our  voices  could  not  be  heard 
in  Constantinople  or  St.  Petersburffh,  for  they 
did  not  feel  in  common  with  us.  But  America 
shared  with  us  in  a  comr;jon  Christianity  and  a 
common  freedom,  and  arguing  with  them  upon 
the  principles  of  eternal  right,  it  was  impossible 
it  should  be  without  effect.    Whatever  there  was 


94  MEETING    AT 

in  America  of  patriotism  and  philanthropy — what- 
ever of  enlightened  zeal — whatever  of  exertion 
— and  it  was  much — for  the  diffusion  of  Christian 
truth — all  was  held  in  conjunction  with  a  load  of 
slavery,  and  they  must  either  cast  it  from  them, 
or  perish  along  with  it.     (Loud  cheers.) 

Bailie  Macfarlan  moved  the  third  resolution. 

Resolved,  That  the  accounts  lately  received  from 
America  regarding  the  progress  of  this  great  question 
and  the  formation  and  extension  of  Anti-Slavery  So- 
cieties in  that  country,  are  most  satisfactory,  and  af- 
ford strong  ground  for  hope,  that  the  peaceful  efforts 
of  Christian  philanthropists  may,  by  the  blessing  of 
God,  be  successful  in  effecting  the  abolition  of  slave- 
ry, and  rescuing  the  vast  colored  population  from  de- 
gradation, ignorance  and  vice. 

Mr.  Thompson  then  rose  to  address  the  meet- 
ing in  support  of  the  last  motion,  and  was  receiv- 
ed with  tremendous  applause.  He  described  in 
his  usual  felicitious  manner,  but  much  to  the  same 
effect  as  in  his  recent  lectures,  the  state  of  feel- 
ing in  America  on  the  subject  of  slavery  ;  and 
showed  the  propriety,  if  not  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  Britain  sending  her  voice  across  the  waters 
in  condemnation  of  that  anomalous  feature  of  the 
American  constitution  ;  and  went  over  the  various 
grounds  for  believing  that  the  slaves  in  the  Uni- 
ted States  would,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
be  completely  emancipated. 

On  the  motion  of  the  Rev.  John  Ritchie,  D.  D. 
seconded  by  Adam  Black,  Esq.,  Treasurer  of  the 
City, 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Meeting  be  cor- 
dially given  to  George  Thompson,  Esq.  for  his  intrep- 
id,  able,    and   successful   services   in   the   cause   of 


EDINBURGH.  95 

Universal  Emancipation,  and  particularly  for  his  ar- 
duous and  persevering  exertions  during  his  recen 
mission  to  the  United  States  of  America. 

Thereafter,  upon  the  motion  of  R.  K.  Greville, 
L.  L.  D.,  seconded  by  the  Hon.  Henry  David 
Erskine,  the  thanks  of  the  Meeting  were  given 
by  acclamation  to  the  Lord  Provost  for  his  con- 
duct in  the  Chair,  and  for  the  interest  he  has  uni- 
formly shown  in  the  cause  of  Emancipation. 

JAMES  SPITTAL, 
Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh. 


Mr.  THOMPSON'S  LECTURE, 

AT  GLASGOW,  SCOTLAND. 

On  Tuesday,  April  21,  Mr.  Thompson  de- 
livered a  lecture  in  Dr.  Wardlaw's  chapel.  The 
admission  was  by  tickets,  on  the  usual  terms. — 
There  was  a  numerous  and  highly  respectable 
audience.  Besides  the  Committee,  there  were 
on  the  platform  a  number,  of  other  gentlemen  of 
respectability.  The  topics  discussed  were  : — 1. 
The  present  condition  and  prospects  of  the  West 
Indies  ;  2.  Prejudice  against  color  in  America  ; 
and,  3.  The  progress  of  the  anti-slavery  cause, 
and  the  growing  triumphs  over  prejudice  in  the 
United  States.  On  these  subjects,  Mr.  Thomp- 
son spoke  for  upwards  of  two  hours  and  a  half. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Wardlaw  was  voted  to  the  Chair 
by  acclamation.  Dr.  Wardlaw  observed,  that 
though  it  ever  gave  him  the  sincerest  pleasure  to 
be  present  on  such  occasions  like  that  on  which 
they  then  met,  yet  he  could  not  take  the  Chair, 
without  regretting  the  absence  of  the  venerable 
President,  Robert  Grahame,  Esq.,  and  his  col- 
leagues as  Vice  Presidents,  Drs.  Heugh  and  Kids- 
ton.  The  absence  of  his  much  esteemed  friends, 
was  occasioned  by  no  want  of  love  for  the  cause 
about  to  be  pleaded — far  from  it.  The  first-nam- 
ed gentleman  was  still  in  London,  and  the  other 


MEETING    AT    GLASGOW.  97 

two  were  attending  a  meeting  of  the  Secession 
Synod  in  Edinburgh.  Knowing,  as  he  did,  the 
views  of  liis  excellent  friend  who  was  about  to 
speak,  he  could  not  help  feeling  that  a  cause  was 
to  be  advocated  which  was  closely  allied  with  the 
doctrines  regularly  taught  in  that  house.  He  had 
a  few  Sabbaths  since  remarked,  that  the  first  Gen- 
tile to  whom  an  Apostle  was  specially  commis- 
sioned to  declare  the  Gospel,  was  a  man  of  color, 
an  Ethiopean  Eunuch.  (Applause.)  Into  his  char- 
iot, the  servant  and  the  successor  of  Christ  en- 
tered, without  pride,  and  without  prejudice,  and 
preached  unto  him  Jesus.  (Applause.)  He  thought 
that  the  text, 'God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all 
nations  of  men,  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the 
earth,'  might  very  appropriately  be  chosen  as  the 
theme  for  the  night ;  but  he  would  not  forestall 
the  remarks  of  the  lecturer,  nor  longer  occupy 
the  time  of  the  meeting.  Without  further  pre- 
face, he  would  once  more  introduce  his  (Dr.  W's) 
and  their  beloved  friend,  Mr.  George  Thompson. 
(Applause.) 

Mr.  Thompson  rose,  and  was  received  with  ev- 
ery demonstration  of  approbation.  In  attempting 
a  sketch  of  Mr.  Thompson's  very  lengthened  and 
animated  address,  we  can  only  profess  to  give  a 
few  of  the  facts  with  which  the  various  topics 
brought  forward  were  illustrated  and  supported. 
We  cannot  transfer  to  paper  the  glowing  lan- 
guage or  vivid  thoughts  of  a  speaker  delivering 
himself  with  the  rapidity  and  energy  of  Mr.  T. 
The  Lecturer  observed,  that  he  rose,  oppressed 
by  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  work 
before  him.  To  describe  the  extent,  force,  cruel- 
ty, and  wickedness  of  prejudice  against  color  in 
Arnsrica— the  sorrows  and  sufferings  of  the  three 
9 


98  MEETING    AT 

millions  who  were  its  patient,  unrevenging,  and 
enduring  victims — or  rightly  to  advocate  the 
claims  of  his  hrother,  so  foully  and  fiercely  per- 
secuted by  the  demon,  prejudice  ;  either  of  these 
was  a  task  requiring  powers  far  greater  than  any 
he  could  pretend  to  employ.  All  that  he  could 
do,  however,  in  that,  and  in  every  other  place,  he 
would  do,  to  disseminate  the  doctrine  of  a  uni- 
versal brotherhood,  and  obtain  the  recognition, 
as  a  practical  principle,  of  the  beautiful  text  al- 
ready quoted,  'God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all 
nations  of  men.'  Before  he  proceeded  to  take  a 
view  of  the  nature,  operations,  and  cure  of  prej- 
udice, he  should  ask  the  attention  of  his  auditory 
to  a  few  facts  respecting  the  West  Indies.  Doubt- 
less all  who  heard  him,  could  remember  how  many 
were  the  predictions  of  ruin,  desolation,  the  anni- 
hilation of  commerce,  the  shedding  of  blood,  &c. 
&,c,  utterred  by  our  West  Indian  opponents,  who 
were  wont  to  sit  like  ill-omened  birds  upon  the 
crumbling  battlements  of  their  blood-cemented 
fabric,  and  croak  forth  their  prophecies  and  male- 
dictions, if  so  be  they  might  scare  the  timid,  the 
wavering,  and  the  credulous,  from  the  work  of 
mercy  then  in  progress.  Had  these  prophecies 
been  verifid  ?  No  ;  all,  all,  utterly  falsified,  and 
the  oracles  who  uttered  them,  h«  (Mr.  T.)  thank- 
ed God,  had  lived  to  see  the  reverse  of  all  they 
had  so  confidently  foretold.  Instead  of  ruin — 
prosperity;  instead  of  desolation — verdure  and 
fertility;  instead  of  pillage,  spoliation,  and  rapine 
— honesty,  truth,  and  attachment  ;  instead  of  a 
relapse  into  barbarism — a  sudden  merging  forth 
from  darkness  and  despair,  with  all  their  accom- 
panying misdeeds  and  miseries,  into  the  hopes, 
occupations,  and  energies  of  civilized  and  useful 
life ;  instead  of  servile  commotion,  pale  fear,  and 


GLASGOW.  99 

midnight  assault — a  free  and  grateful  peasantry, 
a  secure  and  unsuspecting  propriety,  a  tranquil 
and  well  ordered  community  ;  instead  of  the 
glancing  knife,  the  uplifted  hatchet,  the  prowling 
bandit,  and  the  shrieking  vi6tim — were  seen  the 
implements  of  willing  husbandry,  the  negro  seek- 
ing at  eve  the  bosom  of  a  happy  family,  and  those 
who  once  were  visited  by  the  tortures  of  conscious 
guilt,  and  fears  of  Vengeance  from  an  oppressed 
people,  now  rejoicing  in  security  and  anticipating 
the  rapid  approach  of  still  better  days  and  more 
beautiful  harvests.  Such  was  the  state  of  things 
in  the  West  Indies  with  the  abatement  of  the 
inconveniences,  acts  of  injustice,  cases  of  indi- 
vidual suffering,  &c.  &c,  (and  he  confessed  they 
were  not  few)  that  had  grown  out  of  that  clumsy, 
unphilosopbical,  and  iniquitous  piece  of  machin- 
ery, by  some  called  Stanleyism,  but  by  my  Lord 
Stanley  and  his  abettors,  called  Apprenticeship. 
Mr.  Thompson  then  proceeded  to  lay  before  the 
meeting  a  mass  of  evidence  in  support  of  his  as- 
sertions. The  following  is  an  extract  of  a  des- 
patch from  the  Marquis  of  Sligo,  Governor  of 
Jamaica,  to  Lord  Glenelg: — 

The-  following  are  a  few  memoranda  respecting  Jamai- 
ca, ilie  result  of  some  consideration  and  observation, 
combined  with  the  best  information  tliat  could  be  procur- 
ed : — 

1.  The  quality  of  the  sugar  made  this  year,  is  bona 
fide  far  superior  to  what  has  been  heretofore  made  by 
night  work  on  the  majority  of  estates  in  this  island. 

2.  There  has  been  by  far  less  slock  lost  in  this  year's 
crop  than  in  that  of  preceding  years,  and  in  many  places, 
it  has  been  taken  oil'  by  a  smaller  number. 

3.  The  slock  are.  generally  speaking,  in  much  belter 
condition  tins  year,  than  they  were  at  the  close  of  any 
former  year's  crop,  when  they  liavo  been  so  weak  that 
many  of  them  have  died  in  consequence. 


100 


MEETING    AT 


4.  Thai  the  apprentices  generally  are  evidently  becom- 
ing- more  reconciled  to  the  system, and  work  cheerfully  lor 
money  hire,  both  night  and  day,  and  that  they  are  becom- 
ing better  behaved  every  day, 

5.  That  they  may  be  expected  still  further  to  improve, 
as  soon  as  the}  begin  to  feel  the  natural  impetus  ol  edu- 
cation and  religion,  and  as  they  get  rid  of  the  system  of 
deceit  which  Slavery  occasioned,  in  order  to  save  them 
from  oppression. 

6.  That  several  estates  will  exceed  the  present  crop  in 
the  next  year,  and  the  majoiily  will  equal  it. 

7.  That  when  this  is  not  the  case,  it  can  be  traced  to 
sufficient  causes,  independent  of  the  loss  of  labor,  which 
of  course  must  have  considerable  effect,  when  it  is  recol- 
lected that  on  many  esiaies  the  slaves  were  compelled  not 
only  to  work  day  and  night  as  long  as  nature  would  allow 
of  it,  and  in  such  manner  as  their  bodilv  endurance  would 
permit,  for  the  six  week  days,  but  were  often  compelled 
to  pot  sugar  on  the  Sunday. 

On  the  whole,  I  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  perfect 
success  of  the  new  system  during  the  continuance  of  the 
apprenticeship,  depends  entirely  on  the  conduct  of  the 
while  people,  and  that  if  it  fails,  on  them  will  rest  the  en- 
tire blame.  (Signed)  SLIGO. 

In  proof  of  the  truth  of  what  he  had  said  re- 
specting the  produce  of  the  islands,  Mr.  T.  would 
submit,  from  official  documents  sent  to  the  home 
government ,  the  amount  of  suo-ar  imported  into 
the  United  Kingdom  from  the  West  India Tslands, 
from  5th  January,  1833,  to  5th  January,  1836. 


From  Jan.  5, 1833. 
to  Jan.  5.  1834. 


cwt.       qr. 
3,656,611    2 


From  Jan. 5,1834, 
to  Jan.  5.  1835. 


cwt.       qr. 
J71    3 


From  Jan.  5.1835, 
to  Jan.  5, 1836. 


cut.       qr. 
3.5:1.388    - 


I'.. 
26 


Let  it  also  be  remembered  that  in  some  of  the 
colonies  last  year  they  had  had  much  wet,  and  in 
others  extreme  drought.  Mr.  Thompson  referred 
to  certain  returns  from  various  parishes  in  Jamai- 


GLASGOW.  101 

ca,  furnishing  particulars  respecting  the  condition 
of  the  past  crop  (1835,)  and  the  prospects  of  the 
coming  crop.     In  the    vast  majority  of  instances 
the  crop  of  last  year  was   reputed  to  be   'over' 
that  of  the  previous  year.     In  some  cases  12,000 
and  15,000  lbs.  of  sugar  extra  had  been  made. — 
With  reference  to  the  coming  crop,  and  the  con- 
dition of  the  plantations,   the   accounts  were  in 
general  to  the  following  effect: — 'Much  improv- 
ed  latterly.'     '  Improvement.'     '  Much  improve- 
ment.'    '  In  most  satisfactory  condition.'     '  Great 
prospect   of  abundance.'     '  In  fair  forwardness.' 
*  Unusual  crop  expected  ;  plough  introduced  for 
the  first  time,  and  much  approved.'     'Property  in 
better  state  than  last  year.'     In  other  and  smaller 
islands  the  effect  has  been   equally  striking  and 
satisfactory.     What  were  the  brief  but  gratifying 
accounts  from  the  Governors  as  furnished  to  the 
Colonial  Secretary  at  home  ?     He  (Mr.  T.)  held 
in  his  hand  extracts  from  these  despatches — 
Montserrat — 'Perfect  state  of  tranquility.' 
Bahamas — '  Continued  tranquility.' 
Nevis — 'Tranquility  and  good  order.' 
Virgin  Islands — 'Orderly  and  peaceable.' 
Dominica — 'Continued  quiet.' 
St.  Vincent — 'No  insubordination.' 
Tobago — 'I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  is- 
land of  Tobago  will  be  found  second  to   none  in 
point  of  good  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  Appren- 
tices.' 

Trinidad — 'Realizes  the  most  sanguine   hopes 
of  the  promoters  of  the  important  change.' 

Honduras — '  Never  behaved  better,  or  so  well 
before.' 

St.  Lucia — 'Tranquil  and  orderly.' 
Demerara — 'I  deem  it  my  duty  farther  to  re- 
mark to  your  Lordship,  that  since  the  1st  of  Au- 
9* 


102  MEETING    AT 

gust  there  has  not  been  an  instance  of  a  white 
man  upon  an  estate  being  struck  or  ill-treated  by 
a  negro  ;  nor  has  a  single  building  or  corn-field 
been  maliciously  set  fire  to.' 

In  reference  to  the  comparative  state  of  crime 
amongst  the  free  inhabitants  (white)  and  the  ap- 
prentices, the  colored  population  of  the  island,  Mr. 
Thompson  quoted  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  published  in  Jamaica  in  January  last : — 

I  have  been  a  keen  observer  of  passing  events  since  the 
1st  of  August — I  have  noted  almost  every  circumstance 
that  reached  the  light,  so  far  as  the  freed  man  and  the 
apprentice  are  concerned,  and  on  this  head  of  crime  I 
will  give  you  my  notes. 

From  the  1st  of  August,  1834,  to  the  meeting  of  the  last 
Assizes,  eighty-one  apprentices  have  been  tried  before  the 
three  Courts  in  the  island. 

For  the  same  period  and  before  the  same  courts,  35  free 
men. 

I  will  furnish  you  with  a  table  of  offences. 

Free.        Apprentices. 


Cutting  and  maiming 

1 

0 

Manslaughter 

7 

2 

Larceny 

5 

35 

Assaults 

20 

8 

Riot 

0 

1 

Felony 

2 

0 

Receiving  stolen  goods 

3 

1 

Obstn.  of  Magistrates 

2 

0 

Murder 

2 

1 

Burglary 

0 

7 

Horse  and  Cattle  stealing 

8 

20 

Sheep  and  Goat  stealing 

0 

5 

Highway  robbery 
Embezzlement 

1 

0 

0 

1 

Forgery 

1 

0 

Rape 

1 

0 

53  81 

In  the  above  you  will  observe,  that  in  the  atrocious 
crimes  of  murder,  manslaughter,  felony,  cutting  and  maim- 
ing, the  poor  apprentices,  without  the  aid  of  education, 


GLASGOW.  103 

without  the  dawn  of  religion  beaming  on  their  souls,  and 
lighting  them  to  her  '  paths  of  peace,'  are  considerably  in 
the  minority,  and  that  the  freemen  with  more  adventitious 
advantages  which  their  condition  afford,  stand  foremost, 
and  exhibit  a  lamentable  contrast  in  the  eommital  of  hei- 
nous crimes,  when  arrayed  with  the  poor,  ignorant,  forsak- 
en apprentices. 

Now,  I  will  show  the  proportion  of  crime  that  each  class 
bears  on  its  population. 
The  Militia  Return  of  1834,  which   is  composed 

entirely  of  free  persons,  is  10,000 

Supposed  not  doing  duty,  including  women   and 

children,  little  more  than  4-5ths  9,000 


19,000 
This  makes  crime,  on  the  side  of  the  free,  about  one  in 
357. 

The  last  Registration  of  Apprentices  310,000 

Supposed  to  be  manumised  2,000 

308,000 
This  makes  crime  on  the  side  of  the  apprentice,   about 
1  in  3,802. 

In  happy  and  enlightened  England, '  700  persons  were 
put  on  their  trial  in  the  winters  of  1830  and  1831,  charged 
with  rioting  and  arson,  and  of  those  700,  how  many  could 
read  and  write  ?  Only  150 — all  the  rest  were  marksmen.' 
Now,  if  nearly  one-fifth  of  the  number,  or  214  in  a  1000 
could  read,  and  commit  crimes  in  a  country  where  educa- 
tion is  rife,  is  there  not  a  legitimate  ground  of  excuse  for 
the  apprentices,  when  we  consider  that  education  among 
them  is  in  the  ratio  of  about  19  in  a  thousand. 

Prejudice  against  Color. — One  of  the  distin- 
guishing sins  of  America  was  prejudice  against 
color — a  negro-hating  spirit.  An  unutterable 
loathing  of  the  colored  man,  no  matter  what  his 
virtues,  his  talents,  his  christian  graces.  An  odi- 
ous aristocracy,  founded  upon  the  hue  of  the  skin, 
the  texture  of  the  hair,  the  conformation  of  the 
shin-bone.  Yes!  there  was  a  strait-haired,  pale- 
skinned,  short-heeled,  high-nosed  aristocracy  in 
America — more  exclusive,  more  oppressive,  more 


104  MEETING  AT 

tenacious,  and  more  offensive  than  any  aristocra- 
cy of  Rome,  or  Venice,  or  England,  or  France. — 
He  (Mr.  T.)  firmly  believed  that  there  were  thou- 
sands of  professing  christians  in  the  United  States, 
who  would  renounce  Christ  if  it  were  demonstrat- 
ed that  when  on  earth  he  tabernacled  in  the  body 
of  a  colored  man.  In  illustration  of  his  subject, 
Mr.  Thompson  quoted  a  number  of  documents 
put  forth  by  the  American  Colonization  Society, 
the  professing  friends  of  the  free  colored  race,  in 
which  they  were  described  as  'a  greater  Nui- 
sance than  even  slaves  themselves;'  'a  horde  of 
miserable  people  ;'  '  a  vile  excrescence  upon  So- 
ciety ;'' a  curse  and  contagion  wherever  they 
reside.'  'An  anomalous  race  of  beings,  the  most 
depraved  upon  earth  ;'  'a  mildew  upon  our  fields, 
a  scourge  to  our  backs,  (this,  I  think,  said  Mr.  T. 
must  be  a  misprint,  it  certainly  should  read  a 
scourge  to  their  backs,) — (great  laughter,)  and  a 
stain  upon  our  escutcheon  ;'  'scarcely  reached  in 
their  debasement  by  the  heavenly  light.'  This 
prejudice,  and  the  treatment  occasioned  by  it,  was 
vindicated  by  such  men  as  the  Rev.  R.R.Gurley, 
Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  Calhoun, 
United  States  Senator,  on  the  grounds  of*  neces- 
sity,''divine  ordination,'  'a  primitive,  inherent, 
invincible  antipathy,'  &c.  &c.  &c.  It  required 
no  argument  to  prove  the  tendency  of  this  preju- 
dice to  blunt  the  sympathies  ;  to  call  off  the  at- 
tention from  the  woes  and  wants,  and  claims  of 
the  colored  people  ;  to  paralyze  benevolence  ;  to 
darken  the  mental  vision,  and  to  injure  the  moral 
sense.  Indeed  he  (Mr.  T.)  had  been  filled  with 
sorrow  and  astonishment,  to  perceive  the  awful 
lengths  to  which  otherwise  good  men  would  go 
in  the  perversion  of  Scripture,  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  moral  obligations,  under  the  influence 


GLASGOW.  105 

of  this  prejudice  against  color.  One  of  the  fruits 
of  prejudice,  was  the  Colonization  Society — an 
institution  called  into  being  by  prejudice;  based 
upon  prejudice;  appealing  to  prejudice;  acting 
in  accordance  with  the  demands  of  prejudice  ; 
ever  seeking  to  gratify  prejudice,  and  incapable 
of  existence,  without  the  aid  of  prejudice.  The 
white  man  did  not  more  loath,  shun,  and  detest 
the  colored  man,  than  did  the  colored  man  abhor 
the  Colonization  Society.  It  was  equally  abhorred 
by  all  the  enlightened  and  sincere  friends  of  the 
colored  people.  Mr.  Thompson  dwelt  at  length 
upon  the  sufferings,  physical  and  mental,  inflicted 
upon  the  colored  people  by  this  prejudice,  and 
related  a  great  number  of  anecdotes,  of  the  most 
affecting  nature.  These  we  cannot  find  room  to 
report.  They  produced  a  deep  impression  upon 
the  meeting,  and  filled  all  with  sorrow  and  indig- 
nation, at  the  existence  of  so  cruel  and  crushing 
a  feeling  amongst  a  people  professedly  christian. 
*  Who  are  they,'  enquired  Mr.  Thompson,  '  who 
are  thus  treated?  '  Do  they  want  intellect.  No. 
Here  the  lecturer  dwelt  upon  the  past  greatness, 
and  present  capacity  of  the  African,  and  gave 
some  touching  and  sublime  illustrations  of  the 
intellectual  and  moral  character  of  the  negro. — 
Mr.  Thompson  here  read  an  extract  from  a  work 
the  Costume  of  the  Ancients — by  Thomas  Hope, 
2  vol. — London,  1812,  page  1.  'The  ancient 
Egyptians  were  descended  from  the  Ethiopians, 
ami  while  their  blond  remained  free  from  any  mix- 
ture with  that  of  European  or  Asiatic  nations, 
their  race  seems  to  have  retained  obvious  traces 
of  the  aboriginal  negro  form  and  features.  Not 
only  all  the  human  figures  in  their  colored  hvero- 
glyphics  display  a  deep  swarthy  complexion,  but 
every  Egyptian  monument  whether  statue  or  bass- 


106  MEETING  AT 

relief,  presents  the  splay  feet,  the  spreading'  toes, 
the  bow-bent  shins,  the  high  meagre  calves,  the 
long  swinging  arms,  the  sharp  shoulders,  the 
square  flat  hands,  the  head  when  seen  profile, 
placed  not  vertically  but  obliquely  on  the  spine, 
the  jaws  and  chin  consequently  very  prominent, 
together  with  the  skinny  lips,  depressed  nose,  high 
cheek  bones,  large  unhemmed  ears  raised  far 
above  the  level  of  the  nostrils,  and  all  the  other 
peculiarities  characteristic  of  the  negro  confor- 
mation. It  is  true  the  practice  prevalent  among 
the  Egyptians  of  shaving  their  heads  and  beards 
close  to  the  skin,  (which  they  only  deviated  from 
when  in  mourning,)  seldom  aliens  their  statues 
to  shew  that  most  undeniable  symptom  of  negro 
extraction,  the  woolly  hair  ;  the  heads  of  their 
figures  generally  appearing  covered  with  some 
sort  of  cap,  or  when  bare,  closely  shaven.  In  the 
few  Egpytian  sculptured  personages,  however,  in 
which  the  hair  is  introduced,  it  uniformly  offers 
the  woolly  texture,  and  the  short  crisp  curls  of 
that  of  the  negroes  ;  nor  do  I  know  a  single  speci- 
men of  genuine  Egpytian  workmanship,  in  which 
are  seen  any  indications  of  the  long  sleek  hair,  or 
loose  wavy  ringlets  of  Europeans  or  Asiatics.' — 
Do  they  want  gratitude  ?  No.  Here  also  Mr. 
Thompson  introduced  a  number  of  interesting 
facts  detailing  his  own  experience  in  America, 
and  shewing  the  brave  and  generous  attachment 
of  the  free  colored  people  to  his  person.  Are 
they  sanguinary  ?  No.  Here  Mr.  Thompson 
referred  to  their  conduct  under  the  most  cruel  and 
unprovoked  persecutions,  and  challenged  Ameri- 
ca to  point  to  one  instance  of  bloody  retaliation. 
Mr.  Thompson  also  read  some  highly  interest- 
ing extracts  from  a  letter  of  the  Rev.  N.  Paul  and 
his  lady.     We  have  only  room  to  notice  one  state- 


GLASGOW.  J  07 

ment,  that  the  Colored  people  of  Albany,  in  the 
state  of  New-York,  had  formed  an  Anti-Slavery 
Society  of  300  members,  and  had  called  it  the 
*  Thompson  Abolition  Society.'  The  reading  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Paul's  letter  excited  much  interest, 
this  truly  estimable  and  pious  couple  having  left 
many  friends  behind  them  in  this  city. 

Mr.  T.  concluded  his  lecture  by  urging  his  au- 
ditory to  continued  and  zealous  efforts  in  the 
cause  of  Emancipation  ;  which  called  forth  enthu- 
siastic applause. 

Mr.  Thompson  stated  his  intention  to  deliver, 
in  a  few  days,  a  lecture  to  the  ladies  of  Glasgow 
and  its  vicinity,  on  the  subject  of  American  Sla- 
very, with  a  view  to  stimulate  them  to  exertion  in 
support  of  the  great  work  which  the  Emancipa- 
tion Society  contemplates.  The  meeting  then 
separated. 


MEETING  AT   NEWCASTLE. 

We  take  the  following  account  of  Mr.  Tliomp' 
son's  visit  to  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  and  a  sketch 
of  that  gentleman's  speech  at  the  Peace  Meeting, 
from  the  Tyne  Mercury  of  April  32. 

Mr.  Thompson,  during  the  last  two  weeks,  has 
afforded  to  the  inhabitants  of  Newcastle  a  high 
intellectual  treat.  He  is  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful and  accomplished  orators  that  ever  graced  a 
platform  ;  but,  above  all,  his  modest  demeanor, 
his  christian  beneficence  towards  all,  and  particu- 
larly his  ardent  and  well  directed  advocacy  of  the 
oppressed  Negro  in  our  Colonies  and  in  America, 
have  left  an  impression  on  the  minds  of  his  nu- 
merous and  crowded  audiences  that  will  not  read- 
ily be  effaced,  and  has  given  such  an  impetus  to 
the  Anti-Slavery  Societies  of  Newcastle,  as  it  is 
hoped  will  not  be  abated  until  the  last  link  of  the 
last  chain  of  Slavery  throughout  the  world  is 
broken.  Mr.  Thompson  also  delivered  speeches 
at  two  Missionary  meetings  and  at  meetings  of 
the  Temperance  and  Peace  Societies,  crowded 
almost  to  suffocation.  It  is  impossible  to  describe 
the  pleasing  and  fascinating  effect  of  his  elo- 
quence ;  it  must  be  heard  to  give  a  correct  idea 
of  it 


MEETING  AT  NEWCASTLE.  109 

SOCIETY"    EOR    THE     PROMOTION     OF     PERMANENT 
AND     UNIVERSAL    PEACE. 

On  Thursday  evening  last,  the  anniversary 
meeting  or  the  above  society  was  held  at  Bruns- 
wick Place  Chapel  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pengilly  in  the 
chair.  The  Chairman,  in  opening  the  business, 
briefly  commented  on  the  horrid  nature  of  war,  as 
being  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity  ;  and 
intimated  to  the  meeting  that  their  respected  friend 
Mr.  Pilkington,  and  the  able  and  eloquent  advo- 
cate of  Universal  Emancipation,  Mr.  George 
Thompson,  would  address  them  on  the  occasion. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Orange  then  read  the  report, 
which  congratulated  the  nation  on  the  preserva- 
tion of  peace  ;  and  Mr.  Priestman  having  read 
the  treasurer's  account,  which  left  a  balance  of 
£G  in  the  society's  hands,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Reid  mo- 
ved that  the  report  read  be  adopted,  which  was 
seconded  by  Mr.  Priestman. 

Mr.  Geo.  Richardson  moved  the  second  reso- 
lution, in  an  appropriate  speech,  which  was  sec- 
onded by  Mr.  Pilkington. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Orange  moved  the  next  resolu- 
tion, and  complimented  the  nation,  on  its  com- 
mercial prosperity,  and  stated  that  since  peace 
had  been  established  taxes  to  the  amount  of  elev- 
en millions  of  money  had  been  repealed  ;  alter 
which 

Mr.  Thompson  rose  to  second  the  motion,  and 
was  received  with  enthusiastic  applause.  When 
recently  invited  to  visit  Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
(said  Mr.  T.)  he  had  no  idea  of  being  so  fre- 
quently called  upon  to  appear  before  public  as- 
10 


110  MEETING    AT 

semblies — nor  of  the  variety  of  benevolent  enter- 
prises, it  would  be  his  privilege  to  recommend 
to  the  countenance  and  care  of  those  whome  he 
had  the  honor  to  address.  He  gladly  consented 
to  plead  the  cause  of  Education  amongst  the  Ne- 
groes of  the  British  Colonies — as  gladly  did  he 
stand  forth  as  the  advocate  of  Universal  Emanci- 
pation, and  he  rejoiced  that  Societies  had  been 
formed  to  advance  that  glorious  object.  He  had 
also  with  much  readiness  appeared  as  the  advo- 
cate of  the  immediate  and  entire  abolition  of  the 
guilty,  degrading  and  voluntary  bondage  of  intem- 
perance. He  could,  however,  truly  say,  that 
with  equal  pleasure,  he  stood  forth  as  the  advo- 
cate of  the  principles  of  permanent  and  universal 
peace.  Though  he  had  oniy  once  before  appear- 
ed on  the  platform  of  the  Peace  Society,  he  had 
frequently  introduced  the  subject,  incidentally, 
into  his  public  addresses,  and  he  trusted  he  should 
suffer  no  opportunity  of  recommending  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Society  to  pass  unimproved.  He 
(Mr.  T.)  carried  his  Peace  principles  to  the  fullest 
possible  extent.  He  considered  war  unlawful, 
under  all  possible,  all  conceivable  circumstances. 
He  denied  the  right  of  any  mortal  man  to 
take  the  life  of  another.  (Approbation.)  In  tak- 
ing these  views  of  war,  and  punishment,  and 
self  defence,  he  of  course,  stood  upon  Christian 
principles.  He  spoke  as  a  christian  to  christian 
men.  He  asked  '  what  is  it  to  be  a  christian  ? ' 
the  reply  was  to  be  like  Christ.  In  reference, 
therefore,  to  any  circumstances  in  which  he 
might  be  placed  he  had  but  to  set  the  example  of 
his  divine  Redeemer  before  him,  and  ask  'How 
would  he  have  acted  in  such  circumstances?' 
So  doing  he  (Mr.  T.)  seldom  found  any  difficulty 
in  deciding.     He  confessed,  that  in  looking  over 


NEWCASTLE.  Ill 

the  face  of  his  beloved  country,  he  cnuld  not  join 
with  those  who  called  it  a  christian  country. 
In  every  direction  he  saw  the  paraphernalia  of 
war,  offensive  and  defensive.  Our  history  was 
a  history  of  bloody  wars.  The  demon  of  desola- 
tion had  deprived  us  of  £400,000,000  sterling  of 
treasure,  and  of  200,000,000  of  our  sons.  Call  us 
a  nation  of  civilized  savages,  of  wholesale  butch- 
ers, of  sanguinary,  unappeasable  murderers,  but 
call  us  not  a  nation  of  christians  till  we  have 
more  consistently  exemplified  the  doctrines  of 
the  prince  of  peace!  He  might  if  he  had  time, 
dwell  upon  the  causes,  preliminaries,  progress, 
consummation,  and  consequences  of  war,  and 
show  that  in  its  principles,  participations,  and  ef- 
fects, it  was 'evil'  and  'only  evil.'  This  work 
he  believed,  however,  had  been  done  thoroughly 
by  his  friend,  Mr.  Pilkington.  He  regretted  that 
such  false  views  of  honor  and  glory  were  enter- 
tained by  youth  generally.  He  believed,  howev- 
er, that  the  patriotism  and  courage  of  our  modern 
warriors  were  in  most  instances  inspired  by  the 
extrinsic  blandishments  of  the  profession.  See 
yonder  troop  exciting  the  admiration  of  a  gap- 
ing crowd — every  female  sighing  for  a  hero  as 
her  lover,  and  every  bumpkin  panting  to  share 

'  The  glory  and  the  guilt  of  war/ 

What  is  it  thus  steals  away  their  hearts  ?  Is  it 
love  of  country  ?  No.  Is  it  hatred  of  their  coun- 
try's foes  ?  No.  What  then  ?  The  martial  mu- 
sic— the  stately  tramp — the  nodding  plume — the 
waving  banner — the  crimson  sash — the  worsted 
epaulette; — these  were  the  things  in  which  the 
charms  of  a  military  life  were  found.  Instead  of 
the  ordinary  aids,  and  garnishings,  and  imple- 


]  12  MEETING  AT 

ments  of  war,  let  them  be  sent  into  the  field  in 
ordinary  apparel,  with  no  other  weapons  but  those 
which  nature  has  given  them  ;  and  let  them,  at 
some  signal,  fiy  at  each  other's  throats,  with  tooth 
and  nail,  and  gnaw  and  claw,  and  beat  and  bruise, 
until  they  were  tired;  and  he  believed  that  ware 
would  be  less  frequent,  less  popular,  less  destruc- 
tive, and  certainly  less  expensive.  The  fact  was, 
that  war  depended  very  much  for  its  attraction?, 
upon  worsted,  and  broadcloth,  and  parchment,  and 
Day  &  Martin's  blacking.  All  these  things  he 
considered  vain,  guilty,  and  anti-Christian.  Chris- 
tianity was  the  same  now  in  spirit  as  it  was  of  old, 
and  he  adverted  to  the  opinions  of  some  men  of 
the  most  celebrated  piety  and  learning,  whose 
declarations  against  war  were,  'that  as  christians, 
they  could  not,  dare  not,  or  would  not  fight,'  and 
were  they  then  at  this  present  period  still 
upholding  a  system  that  our  fathers  of  old  so  bold- 
ly denounced  ?  The  principle  of  the  christian 
was  not  to  resist  evil,  but  to  overcome  evil  with 
good — to  love  their  enemies,  and  love  them  even 
as  friends.  Who  could  stand  on  more  elevated 
ground  ?  Mr.  Thompson  then  cited  a  case  arising 
from  the  supposition  of  some  valiant  youth  being 
then  present  who  was  thirsting  for  glory,  and 
might  think  that  he  (Mr.  T.)  was  a  coward  and  a 
pretty  fellow  to  be  a  defender  of  his  country.  He 
would  say  to  that  young  person  that  it  required 
more  courage  to  be  a  man  of  peace  than  a  man  of 
war.  He  wwuld  tell  him  that  he  could  walk  on 
the  most  barren  and  lonely  heath  at  night,  where 
the  gibbet  swung  and  the  footpad  lay  in  ambush, 
with  a  calm  and  steady  purpose,  without  a  single 
weapon  of  defence;  while  others  armed  them- 
selves for  their  protection.  Still  pursuing  his 
solitary  course,  the  footpads  mark  his  coming,  and 


NEWCASTLE. 


113 


by  the  beams  of  the  moon  they  mark  his  person. 
Having  come  up  they  demand  his  purse  or  life. 
The  man  of  peace  gives  up  his  purse  as  trash,  and 
is  permitted  to  pass  without  further  harm.  Not 
so  with  the  person  armed — the  footpads  note  his 
weapons,  and  lie  concealed  lest  they  should  be 
the  injured  instead  of  injuring;  they  mark  him  for 
their  deadly  aim,  and  both  murder  and  rob  him. 
Thus  we  see  the  man  of  peace  succeeds,  and 
quietly  passes  on,  trusting  in  the  potency  of  his 
principles.  Mr.  T.  cited  one  or  two  more  cases 
where  the  man  of  peace  trusted  not  on  worldly 
assistance  for  protection,  and  observed  that  he  re- 
lied on  the  promises  of  God,  who  had  numbered 
the  hairs  of  their  heads,  and  permitted  not  a  spar, 
and  the  first  man  that  was  killed  on  the  settle- 
ment was  shot  by  an  Indian  who  thought  the  man 
was  going  to  kill  him.  In  the  Irish  rebellion  the 
dwellings  of  'The  Friends'  were  spared;  and  in 
America  any  one  acquainted  with  its  history  would 
see  that  those  persons  possessing  peace  principles 
conciliated  the  Indians.  In  Massachusetts,  lie 
learned  the  history  of  a  farmer,  whom  the  Indian 
savages  never  harmed,  while  they  pillaged  and 
murdered  his  neighbors  around — they  never  pass- 
ed his  cot  without  calling  hirn  the  man  of  peace. 
While  the  lamented  Richard  Lander  was  wan- 
dering in  the  interior  of  Africa,  he  was  suddenly 
surrounded  by  hundreds  of  savages,  who  at  the 
sign  of  their  chief  levelled  their  arrows  dipped 
with  poison  at  our  countryman,  and  at  another  sign 
the  arrows  would  have  pierced  his  body,  but  that 
Lander  had  the  presence  of  mind  to  fling  instant- 
ly from  him  on  the  ground  his  arms,  and  with 
open  hands  approached  the  chief,  who  at  another 
given  signal  caused  the  arrows  to  be  pointed  to 
the  ground.  Thus  he  had  the  practical  uses  of 
10* 


114  MEETING  AT 

the  society  developed  fully  in  those  facts.  It  had 
teen  said,  that  if  England  did  not  fight  she  was 
liable  to  be  invaded  by  every  ambitious  tyrant. 
He  (Mr.  T.)  would  like  to  see  an  Armada  ap- 
proaching our  isle  to  .attack  a  nation  of  peaceful 
men  and  women.  The  principles  of  peace  should 
be  disseminated  and  cultivated  all  over  the  world; 
nations  should  act  as  individuals,  and  that  time 
would  soon  approach — the  triumphs  of  the  Mille- 
nium. The  passage  of  scripture  referred  to  by 
Mr.  Pilkington,  viz: — '  whosoever sheddeth  man's 
blood  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed,'  was  now, 
he  considered,  as  a  law  merely  to  gratify  the  am- 
bition of  man.  Some  would  go  on  doubting,  al- 
though 999  points  out  of  a  thousand  were  made 
clear  to  them,  yet,  who  would  still  act  upon  the 
one  that  was  doubtful  ;  and  although  that  doubt 
might  be  resolved,  yet  still  they  would  go  on  kill- 
ing all  the  time.  Man  for  his  purposes  would  go 
as  far  back  as  the  antediluvian  times,  to  quote  for 
authority  to  kill.  Mr.  T.  then  contended  that  the 
milder  the  laws  were,  the  more  efficient  would 
they  be  found,  and  related  an  interesting  fact 
which  occurred  in  America,  in  a  prison  at  Con- 
necticut, the  master  of  which  was  noted  for  his 
mild  discipline,  and  kind  and  benevolent  disposi- 
tion. It  happened  that  some  prisoners,  who  had 
been  employed  in  some  public  works  that  had  just 
been  finished,  were  removed  into  the  custody  of 
this  gaoler.  Previous  to  their  arrival  he  had  re- 
ceived a  book  of  their  names,  detailing  the  nature 
of  their  character  and  eonduct.  Among  them 
was  a  very  old  man,  who  had  been  17  years  a 
prisoner,  and  who  was  set  forth  to  be  incorrigible 
and  totally  irreclaimable.  This  old  man  was 
brought  to  him  heavily  laden  with  irons,  and  when 
the  master  cast   his  eyes  upon  him,   lie  instantly 


NEWCASTLE.  115 

ordered  them  to  be  knocked  off,  and  going  up  to 
him,  said,  '  Old  man,  you  are  old  enough  to  be 
my  father,  and  tiiose  chains  are  not  lit  lor  you.' 
The  man  stood  stupified  and  amazed,  but  did  not 
utter  a  word.  The  master  of  the  gaol  after  this 
sent  for  the  old  man  to  come  into  his  private  room, 
to  hear  the  orders  and  discipline  of  the  prison 
read  over.  He  was  then  sent  to  work;  and  for 
two  months  this  man  conducted  himself  with  sat- 
isfaction. After  this  period,  however,  the  master 
had  twice  observed  some  faults  committed  by  him, 
and  again  sent  fur  him  and  remonstrated  with  him 
in  kind  terms.  The  master  charged  him  with  a 
breach  of  the  prison  laws,  and  told  the  old  man 
that  he  might  punish  him  for  the  offence  by  send- 
ing him  to  a  cell  where  the  light  of  heaven  never 
entered,  and  the  human  voice  was  never  heard  ; 
but  to  an  old  man  like  him  he  could  not  do  it. — 
The  old  man  again  stared  in  astonishment,  and 
at  last  ejaculated  '  what  did  he  mean — for  he  had 
never  for  17  long  years  heard  tones  of  kindness 
used  towards  him  ;  he  could  bear  the  whip,  the 
irons,  and  even  the  gallows  itself,  but  this  mark 
of  kindness  he  could  not  bear,'  and  he  burst  into 
tears.  Let  us  learn  from  this  fact  to  try  the  mild- 
er system  before  the  severe  and  harsh  one.  It 
was  natural  for  them  to  be  ruled  by  love  more 
than  by  fear;  every  thing  in  creation  showed  this 
fact.  If  this  principle  was  taken  up,  how  soon 
would  it  spread  into  their  system  of  educa- 
tion, and  even  into  their  legislature,  for  he  re- 
gretted to  say,  they  had  not  as  yet  received  this 
groat  moral  and  religious  principle.  Mr.  T.  then 
ridiculed  the  idea  of  chivalry  and  deeds  of  fnmc> 
and  illustrated  the  state  of  feelings  which  per- 
vaded the  breasts  of  thousands  the  moment  be- 
fore the  battle,  when  the  trumpet's  shrill   blast 


11G  MEETING  AT    NEWCASTLE. 

was  echoing  from  line  to  line,   the  drum  rolling 
and  the  banner  waving,  and  all  arrayed — 
'  Big  wilh  the  fate  of  Cato  and  of  Rome.' 

At  that  moment  what  thoughts  of  home  have  oc- 
cupied the  soldier's  breast,  and  of  his  fate  wheth- 
er he  would  return  or  not.  Mr.  T.,  after  a  few 
more  remarks,  concluded  a  highly  interesting, 
powerful,  and  eloquent  speech,  by  exhorting  the 
audience  as  christians  to  support  the  propagation 
of  peace, — for  if  all  societies  acted  upon  the  truth 
of  the  gospel  they  would  all  become  peace  socie- 
ties. Let  the  cruelty  of  slavery  and  the  despot- 
ism of  war  be  linked  together,  and  banished  into 
that  hell  whence  they  originated.  He  would  now 
part  from  them  in  peace.  He  had  first  come  to 
appeal  for  the  oppressed  slave,  however  feeble 
his  efforts  had  been,  and  he  now  left  them  advo- 
cates of  the  cause  of  universal  peace. 


MR.  THOMPSON'S 
FIRST    LECTURE, 

BEFORE  THE  GLASGOW   EMANCIPATION 

SOCIETY. 

A  meeting  of  the  members  and  friends  of  the 
Glasgow  Emancipation  Society  was  held  in  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Wardlaw's  chapel,  on  Friday  evening-, 
Jan.  29,  when  Mr.  Thompson  delivered  an  address 
on  the  subject  of  his  Anti-Slavery  mission  to  the 
United  States.  Owing  to  the  great  anxiety  to  hear 
Mr.  Thompson,  the  Committee  considered  it  prop- 
er that  the  admission  should  be  by  tickets  only, 
in  order  to  prevent  injury  to  the  chapel  and  to 
preserve  order.  The  doors  of  the  chapel  were 
opened  at  G  o'clock,  before  which  time  a  large 
crowd,  anxious  to  obtain  good  seats,  were  waiting 
outside.  Long  before  seven  the  church  was  filled 
with  a  most  respectable  audience,  among  whom 
we  observed  many  of  our  fellow-citizens,  well 
known  for  their  active  philanthropy.     At  7  o'clock, 

Mr.  G:  Thompson,  accompanied  by  the  Com- 
mittee, entered  the  Chapel.  Ho  was  immediate- 
ly recognised,  and  was  received  with  repeated 
and  enthusiastic  bursts  of  applause. 

James  Johnston,  Esq.,  moved  that  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Ileugh  take  the  chair  as  Vice-President  of 


IIS  MEETING  AT 

the  Society.    The  motion  was  agreed  to  by  ac- 
clamation. 

The  Chairman,  (Dr.  Heugh)  said — Ladies  and 
gentlemen,  in  common  with  all  who  hear  me,  I 
regret  the  absence  of  our  respected  president, 
"whom  no  obstruction  which  it  was  in  his  power 
to  overcome  could  have  kept  from  occupying  his 
place  among  us  this  evening.  His  ardor  in  the 
cause  of  humanity  and  freedom  is  not  less  intense 
in  his  old  age,  than  in  the  best  days  of  his  youth 
and  manhood ;  and  the  hoary  head  of  Robert 
Grahame  will  not  be  the  less  honored  on  this 
account  by  his  friends  and  fellow  citizens  of 
Glasgow.  (Long  and  loud  cheering.)  We  must 
all  deeply  regret  too,  the  absence  of  our  senior 
Vice-President,  Dr.Wardlaw,  who  has  stood  for- 
ward in  the  cause  of  negro  freedom  with  so  much 
Christian  principle,  fervor,  and  intrepidity;  who 
has  lent  the  aid  of  his  great  talents  to  this  sa- 
cred cause,  amidst  good  report  and  bad  report, 
and  who  would  have  filled  the  chair  this  evening, 
as  he  fills  every  public  situation  he  is  called  to 
occupy,  with  honor  to  himself  and  delight  to  all 
who  hear  him — (cheers.)  Ladies  and  gentlemen, 
you  are  assembled  this  evening  to  see  again — and 
that  is  no  small  privilege — our  well-known  friend 
before  you,  (cheers)  of  whom,  in  his  presence,  I 
cannot  trust  myself  to  speak  as  I  would  were  lie 
absent,  but  whoso  eulogium  it  is  unnecessary 
for  me  to  attempt  to  pronounce  in  a  meeting  of 
my  fellow-citizens  of  Glasgow  assembled  in  this 
place,  the  well  remembered  scene  of  his  former 
eloquent  pleadings,  protracted  conflicts,  and  de- 
cisive and  splendid  triumph.  Mr.  T.  returns  to  us 
from  the  American  shores,  with  his  name  and  his 
well  earned  fame  untarnished.  He  has  neither 
been  defeated  nor  dishonored.     He  lias  retreat- 


GLASGOW.  119 

ed,  not  fled,  from  America.  He  has  retreated, 
by  the  urgency  of  friends,  from  lawless  physical 
violence  ;  but  he  has  never  fled,  and,  if  I  mistake 
him  not,  he  never  will  flee  from  any  field  of  fair 
intellectual  conflict.  (Cheers.)  He  never  went 
thither  for  the  purpose  of  physical  warfare,  to  fight 
the  pro-slavery  men  with  the  fist,  or  the  poignard, 
or  the  firelock  ;  he  went  to  proclaim  in  the  ears 
of  America  the  voice  of  truth,  and  humanity  ;  and 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  the  best  and 
most  enlightened  citizens  of  that  country  bear 
him  witness  that  he  has  nobly  fulfilled  his 
Mission;  fori  am  confident,  that  documentary 
evidence,  of  the  most  unquestionable  charac- 
ter, will  support  me,  when  I  say,  that  when  brute 
violence  was  not  interposed  against  his  per- 
son, and  in  every  instance  in  which  the  conflict 
was  mental  alone,  his  success  has  not  been  less 
signal  in  America,  than  at  any  period  of  his  career 
in  Great  Britain.  (Cheers.)  But  I  shall  not  do  vi- 
olence to  my  own  feelings,  and  to  your  wishes  by 
detaining  you  longer  from  hearing  "Mr.  Thompson. 

Mr.  Thompson,  on  advancing  to  the  front  of 
the  platform,  was  loudly  cheered.  It  was  with 
unspeakable  joy,  he  said,  that  he  once  more  rose 
to  address  the  friends  of  freedom  and  humanity 
in  this  city — within  these  walls — these  walls 
where  they  had  so  often  met  before  to  fight  the 
battle  of  universal  freedom,  and  tooverconn'  with 
spiritual  weapons  the  foes  of  human  rights. — 
(Cheers.)  He  appeared  before  them  to  surren- 
der into  their  hands  the  trust  they  had  reposed  in 
him — to  give  a  faithful  account  of  his  Steward- 
ship, during  nearly  two  years  he  had  been  their 
representative  in  a  foreign  land,  and  to  render  a 
strict  account  of  all  his  words,  all  his  actions,  all 
his  plans,  and  all  his  purposes,  since  he  bade  fare- 


120  MEETING  AT 

well  to  his  kind  friends  in  this  country,  and  sailca 
across  the  Atlantic  for  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica, there  to  represent  their  wishes  and  prayers, 
and  to  preach  tidings  of  humanity.  When  they 
first  commissioned  him  on  this  errand  of  mercy, 
they  promised  to  assist  him  with  their  sympathies 
and  prayers.  They  bestowed  upon  him  an  unre- 
served and  a  generous  confidence — they  pledged 
themselves  to  co-operate  with  him  zealously  and 
unremittingly,  while  laboring"  in  a  distant  and 
dangerous  field,  grappling  with  the  monster,  Sla- 
very— face  to  face,  and  nobly  they  had  redeemed 
their  pledge  ;  they  had  been  true  to  their  cause — 
true  to  him  ;  they  were  still  true  to  their  cause, 
they  still  abode  by  the  standard  which  had  been 
planted  in  this  city,  and  which,  he  hoped,  would 
never  be  deserted  while  a  single  shackle  remain- 
ed on  the  mind  or  the  body  of  a  living  being, 
(Tremendous  cheering.)  They  were  still  true  to 
the  negro's  humble  but  sincere  advocate  ;  they 
still  greeted  him  with  smiles,  still  animated  him 
by  applause.  Thank  God,  he  was  able  to  appear 
before  them  with  clean  hands  ;  lie  had  done  his 
duty  as  far  as  he  could,  and  now,  returning  from 
the  field  of  conflict,  he  had  nothing  to  conceal — 
nothing  to  disguise — nothing  to  extenuate — noth- 
ing for  which  to  ask  forgiveness.  He  had  only  to 
deliver  a  plain  unvarnished  statement  of  what  his 
eyes  had  seen  and  his  ears  had  heard.  He  would 
give  an  account  of  the  astonishing  progress  of  the 
cause,  and  he  doubted  not  that  before  the  end  of 
his  addresses,  they  would  be  convinced  that,  since 
the  amelioration  ot  the  moral  and  physical  condi- 
tion of  the  human  race  had  first  engaged  the  at- 
tention of  philanthropists,  never  had  a  greater 
work  been  accomplished,  unaided  by  miracles,  in 
so  short  a  period.    (Immense  cheering.)    If  there 


GLASGOW.  121 

be  any  individual  present  who  may  think  that  he 
(Mr.  Thompson)  had  accomplished  nothing — that 
his  enunciation  of  those  principles  which  these 
walls  have  so  often  echoed,  was  altogether  fruit- 
loss — he  would  only  ask  him  to  return  again  and 
again  to  these  lectures  in  order  that  he  might  be 
undeceived.  The  history  of  the  abolition  ques- 
tion was  interesting  and  important  on  many 
grounds. 

1st,  as  an  exhibition  of  contemporaneous  events, 
appertaining  to  the  freedom  and  happiness  of  a 
largo  portion  of  the  human  race. 

!<5d,  as  connected  with  the  history  of  Republi- 
can America,  which  in  its  fate  was  ordained  deep- 
ly and  widely  to  affect  all  other  nations — (cheers.) 

3d,  as  connected  with  that  particular  branch  of 
human  freedom,  lor  which  we  have  struggled,  and 
for  which  we  will  be  found  struggling  while  a  fet- 
ter remains  on  the  limbs  or  on  the  conscience  of 
a  human  being.  The  question  was  also  interest- 
ing from  its  developing,  as  had  never  been  done 
before,  the  method  by  which  a  great  moral  revo- 
lution might  be  carried  on,  and  prejudices  the 
most  stubborn  and  deep  rooted,  might  be  utterly 
destroyed. 

It  might  be  asked  what  interest  had  they  in 
this  question  ?  He  would  answer  that  the  ques- 
tion was  interesting  to  all,  in  so  far  as  it  proved, 
more  fully  than  any  other  modern  reformation, 
the  potency  of  truth — or,  in  words  which  would 
be  understood  by  every  one,  it  showed  what  mar- 
vellous results  had  been  effected  by  what  wa3 
afore-time  called  the  *  foolishness  of  preaching.' 
It  was  interesting,  as  bringing  them  to  an  ac- 
quaintance with  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of 
the  human  race,  or,  as  their  worthy  Vice  PresL 
dent  on  a  late  occasion  had  styled  them,  the 
11 


122  MEETING  AT 

'Grandees  of  nature.'  The  speaker  hero,  allud- 
ing to  the  American  Abolitionists,  broke  out  into 
a  highly-wrought  and  splendid  apostropliy  which 
we  need  not  attempt  to  report^  He  then  proceed- 
ed:— The  topic  was  also  interesting,  from  its  be- 
ing connected  with  those  benevolent  and  religious 
enterprises  in  which  the  christians  of  this  country 
were  so  closely  united  with  those  of  America,  and 
in  which  they  would  perse\  ere  till  the  last  idol 
tumbled  to  the  ground,  and  every  human  spirit  was 
illuminated  with  the  light  of  divine  truth.  It  was 
finally  interesting  on  account  of  its  exhibiting 
conduct,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  which 
we  would  do  well  to  imitate.  Yes!  they  would 
do  well  to  follow  the  noble  example  of  those  who 
fought  the  battle  of  humanity  against  the  despot- 
ism of  the  western  hemisphere.  But  he  stood 
not  there  to  traduce  America — God  forbid.  It 
was  true  that  he  had  been  persecuted,  reviled, 
and  hunted  from  its  shores  ;  he  trusted,  however, 
that  those  who  had  so  acted  towards  him  would 
yet  see  their  error,  and  would  discover  that 
he  had  never  been  their  enemy.  It  was  true, 
he  was  not  accustomed  to  call  things  other- 
wise than  by  their  proper  names.  He  always 
called  a  spade  a  spade,  because  it  was  always 
a  spade.  Slavery  he  would  call  by  itsown  name, 
wherever  it  was,  were  it  even  at  the  horns 
of  the  altar;  and  he  would  call  a  despot,  a 
despot,  though  by  profession  a  republican,  lie 
would  call  America  a  wicked  nation — a  hissing 
and  a  bye-word  throughout  the  whole  civilized 
world.  In  the  statements  he  was  about  (o  make, 
he  would  draw  his  facts  entirely  from  American 
documents — from  newspapers  and  other  periodi- 
cals written  and  printed  by  Americans.  It  was 
with    regret  he   stated   these   things  regarcliue 


GLASGOW.  123 

that  country.  He  admired  and  loved  America — 
he  hat  nl  not  her  sons,  but  her  sins — he  only  war- 
red against  those  customs  which  endangered  her 
institutions — he  wished  to  remove  that  foul  blot 
which  marred  her  beauty,  that  excrescence  in  the 
body  politic,  which,  if  removed,  would  restore 
that  nation  to  more  than  pristine  grandeur  and 
beauty,  and  enable  it  to  stand  forth  a  beacon  and 
a  blessing  to  the  world. 

He  could  sincerely  say  in  Scotland  of  America, 
what  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  he  had  de- 
clared to  America. 

I  love  thee  . — witness  heaven  above, 

That  I  this  land,  this  people  love ; 

And  rail  my  slanderers  as  they  will, 

Columbia,  I  will  love  thee  still. 

Nor  love  thee  less  when  1  do  tell 

Of  crimes  that  in  thy  bosom  dwell, 

O  !  that  my  weakest  word  might  roll, 

Like  heaven's  own  thunder  through  thy  souJ  ! 

There  is  oppression  in  thine  hand — 

A  sin  corrupting  all  the  land  ; 

There  is  within  thy  gates  a  pest, 

Gold,  and  a  Babylonish  vest  5 

Not  hid  in  shame-coneealing  shade, 

But  broad  against  the  son  display'd  ; 

Repent  thee  then,  and  swiftly  bring 

Fortb  from  the  camp  the  accursed  thing  ; 

Consign  it  to  remorseless  fire, 

Watch  till  the  latest  spark  expire, 

Then  strew  its  ashes  on  the  wind, 

Nor  leave  an  atom  wreck  behind, 

So  shall  thy  power  and  wealth  increase: 

So  shall  thy  people  dwell  in  peace  ! 

On  thee  the  Almighty's  glory  rest, 

And  all  the  earth  in  thee  be  blest ! 

He  had  now  expressed  his  worst  wish  towards 
America.  Thank  heaven,  those  who  knew  him 
loved  him.  There  were  but  two  parties  in  Amer- 
ica.    The  one  loved  him,  and  would  die  for  him  ; 


124  MEETING  AT 

the  other  hated  him,  and  would  very  willingly, 
were  they  able,  toss  him  into  the  bottomless  pit. 
Looking  to  America,  the  greatness  of  its  present 
state,  and  its  yet  greater  prospects,  who  would 
Botsay  that  it  was  a  nation  well  worth  caring  for; 
exalted  in  arts,  invincible  in  arms,  secure  from  in- 
vasion, almost  illimitable  in  territory,  there  was 
scarcely  a  nation  to  compare  with  it;  possessing 
extensive  commerce,  rich  in  cultivation,  with  a 
vast  and  increasing  population,  powerful  in  for- 
eign relations,  and  having  a  constitution  so  ex- 
cellent that  he,  though  attached  to  a  monarchical 
form  of  government,  considered  it  the  noblest 
constitution  in  the  world.  Look  again  to  her 
granaries  overflowing  with  the  produce  of  the 
country;  her  custom-houses  teeming  with  the 
merchandise  of  the  world  ;  and  they  would  not 
consider  it  exaggeration  should  he  say  that  Amer- 
ica was  scarcely  second  to  any  country  on  earth. 
Should  there  be  an  American  present  in  this 
meeting  he  hoped  that  while  he  bore  away  his 
reproaches,  he  would  also  bear  witness  that  he 
spoke  well  of  his  country.  Yet  America  was 
more  guilty — ay,  greatly  the  more  guilty,  on  this 
account.  Not  content  with  al!  the  natural  advan- 
tages which  She  possessed,  with  the  blessings  of 
free  industry  and  honest  trade,  America — Chris- 
tian America — Republican  America,  traffics  in  the 
souls  and  bodies  of  men.  More  than  a  6th  of  the 
population  of  America  were  the  most  abject 
slaves  that  crawled  on  the  face  of  the  earth — they 
were  mere  chattels  ;  they  could  do  nothing  but 
what  their  masters  permitted;  they  possessed 
nothing  but  what  their  masters  could  claim.  Nor 
was  the  slave  trade  at  an  end.  He  needed  not 
to  point  to  those  infamous  and  brutalising  scenes, 
the  slave  auctions  which  took  place  at  Charles- 


GLASGOW.  125 

ton,  and  Alexandria,  Richmond  and  New-Orleans 
— to  the  honors  of  the  slave  ship,  that  nearest 
resemblance  to  a  pandemonium — or  to  speak  of 
200  infants  born  daily  to  v.o  better  portion  than 
to  tlie  most  abject  and  unmitigated  thraldom. 
And  all  this  was  in  America,  with  her  wealth,  her 
merchandise,  her  floating  navies,  her  invincible 
volunteers,  her  missions,  her  bibles,  and  her  boasts 
on  the  4th  of  July,  and  on  every  other  day,  and 
hour,  and  minute,  and  moment,  throughout  the 
year,  that  she  was  the  freeest  nation  on  the  face  of 
the  earth,  (cheers.)  Before  going  farther  (said 
Mr.  T.)  it  might  not  be  amiss  to  state  precisely 
what  was  the  object  he  had  sought  to  obtain  in 
his  late  mission.  That  object  was  two  fold;  first, 
to  bear  faithful  testimony  against  prejudice  of 
color,  a  crime  not  surpassed  by  that  of  slavery. 
To  treat  human  beings  with  coldness  or  unkind- 
ness,  on  account  of  their  difference  of  color,  was 
the  greatest  offence  of  which  man  could  be 
guiltv.  It  was  blasphemous  for  man  thus  to  ad- 
dress the  Deity,  as  it  were,  and  say,  you  have 
made  this  man  of  a  different  hue,  and,  therefore, 
he  shall  not  sit  in  the  same  pew,  nor  travel  in  the 
same  coach,  nor  sail  in  the  same  steamboat ; 
there  shall  be  a  gulph  betwixt  us  as  wide  and  im- 
passable as  that  -betwixt  the  Soodrah  and  the 
Brahmin.  This  prejudice  was  the  foundation  of 
slavery  ;  it  was  infused  by  mothers  into  the  minds 
of  their  children,  it  grew  with  their  growth,  and 
strengthened  with  their  strength.  But  were  an 
end  once  put  to  this  prejudice,  the  demon  of  sla- 
very would  soon  flap  its  black  wings  and  fly  to  that 
nethermost  hell  where  it  was  born  and  nurtured. 

Another  object  was  to  wage  a  war  of  extermina- 
tion with  slavery.    He  went  to  America,  and  when 
he  got  there  he  found  every  possible  prejudice  ar- 
11* 


126  MEETING   AT 

rayed  against  him.  These  prejudices  had  given 
rise,  in  the  minds  of  some,  to  a  very  strange  kind 
of  patriotism,  which  sought  to  break  the  heads  of 
all  those  who  were  laboring  to  break  the  bonds 
of  slavery.  He  had  to  wage  war  with  the  tyrani- 
cal  and  bigoted  slaveholders  of  the  Southern 
States,  and  with  their  minions  in  the  north.  He 
went  with  no  party  connection,  without  wealth, 
no  arms,  no  diplomatic  appointment,  no  introduc- 
tion to  great  men.  He  had  resolved  to  identify 
himself  with  no  political  party,  but  to  cry  aloud, 
'  open  the  prison  doors  and  let  the  oppressed  go 
free.'  He  had  no  seals,  but  those  so  kindly  pre- 
sented to  him  by  his  friends  in  this  city,  and  these, 
though  precious  to  him,  were  of  no  value  in 
America.  He  went,  however,  with  the  prayers 
of  the  friends  of  freedom,  the  ridicule  of  his  en- 
emies, and  the  pity  of  many  who  thought  him  well 
meaning,  perhaps,  but  not  overwise.  It  might  be 
asked,  whence  then  did  he  look  for  success,  see- 
ing that  he  went  so  unsupported  ?  His  answer 
was,  that  he  looked  for  support  from  the  invinci- 
ble nature  of  truth.  He  had  ever  been  of  opin- 
ion that  the  truth  of  God,  without  the  mixture  of 
human  wisdom,  must  bring  forth  good  fruits.  To 
near  sighted  men,  the  immediate  result  might 
seem  dreadful  ;  but  he  felt  satisfied  that  in  all 
such  cases  the  ultimate  consequence  would  be 
beneficial.  He  would  recommend  all  apostles  of 
freedom  in  this  country  not  to  become  back  stairs 
suplicants  to  a  minister.  First  let  them  try  the 
effect  of  truth  on  the  mass.  First  affect  the  base 
of  the  pyramid,  and  the  apex  would  soon  be  made 
to  topple.  This  was  the  mode  he  had  followed 
in  America,  and  with  astonishing  success.  Some, 
indeed,  had  told  him  he  was  mad.  Public  opin- 
on  was  against  him.     He  had  asked  what  made 


GLASGOW.  127 

public  opinion.  Was  it  not  talking?  was  it  not 
listening  to  what  was  said  by  wives  and  mothers, 
and  by  those  who  expected,  if  not  already  wives 
or  mothers,  to  become  so  ?  Those  were  the  ma- 
kers of  public  opinion.  These  had  made  it  what 
it  was,  and  they  could  unmake  it  if  it  was  wrong". 
Ministers,  Legislators,  and  Lawyers,  made  anoth- 
er sort  of  public  opinion.  As  a  noble  example  of  a 
single  individual  warring  with  public  opinion,  and 
finally  overcoming  it,  by  his  individual,  unaided 
energies,  Mr.  Thompson,  in  a  brilliant  passage, 
referred  to  the  case  of  the  famous  Martin  Luther. 
For  his  own  part,  he  said,  he  was  not  fond  of 
rowing  with  the  tide.  He  preferred  having  some- 
thing to  row  against.  If  he  was  called  to  argue, 
give  him  an  opponent;  if  to  grapple,  let  hirn  not 
fiwht  the  air.  Public  opinion  was  against  the 
fishermen  of  Galilee.  Indeed,  public  opinion  has 
ever  been  against  reformers.  The  question  is 
not  whether  public  opinion  is  or  is  not  against  us, 
but  whether  we  be  right  or  wrong.  He  might 
be  told,  then,  that  in  going  to  America  he  had  no 
prospect  of  succeeding.  lie  could  only  answer 
that  he  did  not  go  to  gain  popularity.  Had  he 
(the  eloquent  Lecturer)  wished  to  become  popu- 
lar, he  knew,  at  least  he  thought,  it  was  not  yet 
too  late  for  him  to  get  into  favor  with  the  Amer- 
icans. Had  he  only  recanted — had  he  but  chang- 
ed his  opinions  with  regard  to  immediate  abolition, 
he  might  have  rode  on  the  high  tide  of  popularity 
from  the  one  end  of  the  United  States  to  the 
other.  But  why  should  he  have  wished  to  be- 
come popular,  unless  for  the  purpose  of  gaining 
ease  or  lucre?  With  regard  to  ease,  no  man 
who  set  a  value  upon  it  would  advocate  abolition. 
He  had,  during  thirteen  months,  delivered  be- 
tween 200  and  300  public  addresses;  and  as  for 


128  MEETING  AT 

affluence,  had  he  wanted  a  morsel  of  bread  he 
could  have  got  it  at  home.  Why  then  did  he  go  ? 
and  why  did  they  send  him?  It  was  because 
they  loved  mankind — it  was  because  they  loved 
liberty; — it  was  because  they  pitied  the  slave; — 
it  was  because  they  had  tested  the  power  of  truth 
when  plainly  spoken,  to  overcome  the  most  gigan- 
tic interests,  and  to  bow  a  nation,  a  parliament, 
and  a  throne,  before  the  dictates  of  truth  and  hu- 
manity. He  went  to  America,  because  he  was 
likely  there  to  find  a  field  of  labor  in  the  sacred 
cause  of  abolition.  Glasgow  had  said,  go:  Edin- 
burgh had  said,  go  ;  England  had  said,  go  ;  and 
Jreland  had  said,  go — {Loud  cheering.)  The 
friends  of  emancipation  in  America  cried,  come 
over  and  help  us, — Therefore,  said  Mr.  T.,  I  went; 
therefore,  you  sent  me — (cheers.)  He  would  be 
pardoned  for  making  these  preliminary  remarks  ; 
in  his  next  lecture  he  would  enter  into  details. 
He  would  now,  however,  state  what  principles  he 
sought  lo  establish.  He  maintained  that  the  hold- 
ing of  a  human  being  as  property — the  bringing 
down  the  image  of  God  to  be  bought  and  sold — 
was  sin.  That  slaveholding  was  a  sin  in  all  sup- 
posable  cases,  and  being  sin,  ought  to  be  aban- 
doned immediately,  entirely,  and  forever.  The 
prejudice  of  color  was  also  a  sin.  This  prejudice 
was  manifested  in  a  thousand  ways.  Such  was 
the  misery  to  which  it  gave  rise  that  he  had  often 
heard  respectable  colored  men  say  of  a  colored 
mother,  she  rejoiced  to  witness  the  deatli  of  her 
child  as  a  relief  from  that  misery  to  which  it 
would  otherwise  be  subjected.  Mr.  Thompson 
here  adverted  to  the  difficulty  which  some  pro- 
fessed to  feel  in  deciding  as  to  when  the  brute 
creation  ended  and  humanity  began.  This  Mr. 
T.   said,  had  never  been  a*  difficulty  with  him. 


GLASGOW.  129 

He  asked  not  where  the  individual  \va3  born, 
what  was  his  complexion,  what  his  form  or  fea- 
ture, what  the  texture  of  his  hair  ;  he  asked  but 
one  question  ;  he  applied  but  one  test — can  he 
love  his  God?  If  this  can  be  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  he  did  homage  to  him  as  man,  and 
would  tremble  lest  by  coldness  or  indifference 
towards  him,  his  spirit  should  be  lost  forever. 
A  great  deal  was  said  in  America  about  conse- 
qences — about  what  came  of  saying  this  or  say- 
ing that;  no  question  was  put  as  to  the  truth  or 
falsehood  of  a  statement,  but  the  most  anxiety 
was  directed  towards  the  consequences  likely  to 
spring  from  it.  Now  his  doctrine  was  to  speak 
the  truth,  and  leave  the  consequences  to  God, 
who,  he  believed,  would  do  much  more  if  men 
would  let  him  do — if  they  would  not  attempt  to 
go  into  copartnery,  with  the  Deity,  but  would  con- 
fine themselves  to  the  strict  line  of  duty.  Such, 
however,  was  not  the  opinion  of  the  Anti-Aboli- 
tionists of  America.  Doctors  of  Divinity,  Profes- 
sors of  colleges,  lawyers  and  senators,  were  all 
terrified  for  the  consequences  of  immediate  eman- 
cipation. What!  said  they,  would  you  set  the 
slaves  loose  immediately  to  cut  our  throats.  Oh  ! 
the  consequences — the  consequences. 

But  he  (Mr.  T.)  said,  the  emancipation  ought 
to  be  immediate,  because  it  was  the  immediate 
right  of  the  slave,  because  it  was  the  immediate 
duty  of  the  master,  because  they  had  no  right  to 
compromise  between  right  and  wrong.  It  was 
then  asked,  did  they  expect  immediate  emancipa- 
tion— the  answer  was,  that  they  did  not,  because 
many  difficulties  lay  in  the  way,  but  still  it  was 
their  duty  to  preach  and  to  declare  the  path  of 
duty.  Mr.  T.  then,  in  a  peculiarly  happy  man- 
ner, illustrated   what   was    meant   by  immediate 


130  MEETING   AT 

emancipation.  Suppose,  said  he,  that  you  are 
called  up  iu  the  middle  of  the  night  on  account  of 
the  illness  of  a  friend,  and  asked  to  run  immedi- 
ately for  the  doctor.  Although  you  know  that 
the  doctor  lives  two  miles  off,  and  though  you  see 
the  snow  storm  beating  against  the  window,  you 
do  not  say  the  man  must  surely  be  mad  because 
he  desires  you  to  get  the  doctor  immediately. — 
No — you  immediately  understand  what  he  means? 
— you  immediately  rub  your  eyes,  immediately 
jump  out  of  bed — immediately  hurry  on  your 
clothes — immediately  run  to  the  stable — immedi- 
ately saddle  the  horse — immediately  ride  off,  and 
though  you  tumble  into  a  wreath  of  snow  on  the 
road,  you  immediately  extricate  yourself,  (cheers 
and  laughter,)  and  reach  the  Doctor's  house,  who 
immediately  comes  off  with  you — immediately 
feels  the  patient's  pulse — immediately  prescribes 
appropriate  medicine,  which  the  patient  immedi- 
ately takes,  and  is  almost  immediately  cured — 
(great  laughter.)  This  was  the  method  adopted 
■with  regard  to  American  Slavery  ;  the  great  ob- 
ject was  to  rouse  the  doctor — that  powerful  doc- 
tor to  whom  he  had  already  alluded — public  opin- 
ion. In  this  object  they  had  been  strikingly  suc- 
cessful. Already  300  societies,  and  hundreds  of 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  were  engaged  in  dissem- 
inating the  principles  of  freedom.  The  doctor, 
public  opinion,  travelled  faster  in  America  than 
here.  There  might  be  a  thunder  storm  occasion- 
ally, and  perhaps  some  lightning,  but  that  was 
nothing — on  the  doctor  went  to  effect  a  certain 
cure.  Mr.  T.  then  went  on  to  speak  of  the  meas- 
ures which  had  been  adopted  in  order  to  advance 
the  cause  of  emancipation — these  were  not  "war- 
like as  regarded  the  whites;  holy  ends  could  be 
advanced  only  by  holy  means,  but  as  it  had  been 


GLASGOW.  1U1 

one  of  the  chief  charges  brought  against  him,  by 
the  partizans  of  slavery,  that  he  incited  the  slaves 
to  rebellion,  he  would  now  read  from  an  Ameri- 
can newspaper,  the  views  which  he  promulgated 
in  that  country.  Mr.  T.  here  read  the  following 
extract  from  a  speech  delivered  by  him  in  Boston, 
on  an  occasion,  when  the  right  of  the  slaves  to 
rebel  was  the  subject  of  discussion  : — 

'  He  (Mr.  T.)  regarded  the  question  as  both  ne- 
cessary and  opportune.  The  principles  of  aboli- 
tionists were  only  partially  understood.  They 
were  also  frequently,  wilfully  and  wickedly  mis- 
represented. Doctrines  the  most  dangerous,  and, 
designs  the  most  bloody,  were  constantly  imput- 
ed to  them.  What  was  more  common,  than  to 
see  it  published  to  the  world,  that  the  abolitionists 
were  seeking  to  incite  the  slaves  to  rebellion  and 
murder?  It  was  due  to  themselves  and  to  the 
world,  to  speak  boldly  out  upon  the  question  then 
before  the  meeting.  Christians  should  be  told 
what  were  the  real  sentiments  of  abolitionists, 
that  they  may  decide  whether,  as  Christians,  they 
should  join  them.  Slaveholders  should  know  what 
abolitionists  thought  and  meant,  that  they  might 
judge  of  the  probaple  tendency  of  their  doctrines 
upon  their  welfare  and  existence.  The  slaved 
should,  if  possible,  know  what  their  friends  at  a 
distance  meant,  and  what  they  would  have  them 
do  to  hasten  the  consummation  of  the  present 
struggle. 

'  If  any  human  being  in  the  universe  of  God 
would  be  justified  in  resorting  to  physical  vio- 
lence to  free  himself  from  unjust  restraints,  that 
human  being  was  the  American  Slave.  If  the 
infliction  of  unmerited  and  unnumbered  wrongs 
could  justify  the  shedding  of  blood,  the  slave 
would  be  justified  in  resisting  to  blood.     If  the 


132  MEETING  AT 

political  principles  of  any  nation  could  justify  a 
resort  to  violence  in  a  struggle  against  oppres- 
sion, they  were  the  principles  of  this  nation, 
which  teach  that  resistance  to  oppression  is  obe- 
dience to  the  laws  of  nature  and  God.  He  re- 
garded the  slavery  of  this  land,  and  all  Christian 
lands,  as  'the  execrable  sum  of  all  human  vil- 
lages'—  the  grave  of  life  and  loveliness — the 
foe  of  God  and  man — the  auxiliary  of  hell — the 
machinery  of  damnation.  Such  were  his  delib- 
erate convictions,  respecting  Slavery.  Yet,  with 
these  convictions,  if  he  could  make  himself  heard 
from  the  Bay  of  Boston  to  the  frontiers  of  Mexi- 
co, he  would  call  upon  every  slave  to  commit  his 
cause  to  God,  and  abide  the  issue  of  a  peaceful 
and  moral  warfare  in  his  behaif.  lie  believed  in 
the  existence,  omniscience,  omnipotence  and 
providence  of  God.  He  believed  that  everything 
that  was  good  might  be  much  better  accomplish- 
ed without  blood  than  with  it.  He  repudiated  the 
sentiment  of  the  Scotish  bard — 

'  We  will  drain  our  dearest  veins, 
But  we  wiil  be  free. 

Lay  t'nt!  proud  oppressor  1    .\  . 

Tyrants  tail  in  every  foe, 

Liberty's  in  every  blow, 
Let  us  do  or  die.' 

He  would  say  to  the  enslaved,  'Hurt  not  a  hair 
of  your  master's  head.  It  is  not  eonsistent  with 
the  will  of  your  God,  that  you  should  do  evil  that 
good  may  come.  In  that  book  in  which  your  God 
and  Saviour  has  revealed  his  will,  it  is  written  — 
Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you, 
do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them 
which  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you  ; 
that  ye  may  be  the  children  of  your  father  which 
is  in  heaven.  Avenge  not  yourselves,  but  rather 
give  place  unto  wrath.' 


GLASGOW.  133 

'He  (Mr.  T.)  would,  however,  remind  the  mas- 
ter of  the  awful  import  of  the  following  words  : 
*  Vengeance  is  mine  ;  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord.' 

'To  the  slave  he  would  continue — 'Therefore, 
if  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him;  if  he  thirst 
give  him  drink.  Be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but 
overcome  evil  with  good.' 

'Mr.  Thompson  also  quoted  Eph.  vi.  5;  Col. 
iii.  22  ;  Titus  ii.  9  ;  I.  Peter  ii.  18—23.  In  pro- 
portion, however,  as  he  enjoined  upon  the  slave 
patience,  submission  and  forgiveness  of  injuries, 
he  would  enjoin  upon  the  master  the  abandon- 
ment of  his  wickedness.  He  would  tell  him 
plainly  the  nature  of  his  great  transgression — the 
sin  of  robbing  God's  poor — withholding  the  hire 
of  the  laborer — trafficking  in  the  immortal  crea- 
tures of  God.  He  did  not  like  the  fashionable, 
but  nevertheless  despicable  practice  of  preaching 
obedience  to  slaves,  without  pleaching  repent- 
ance to  masters.  He  (Mr.  Thompson)  would 
preach  forgiveness,  and  the  rendering  of  good  for 
evil  to  the  slaves  of  the  plantation  ;  but  before  he 
quitted  the  property,  he  would,  if  it  were  possi- 
ble, thunder  forth  the  threatening  of  God's  word 
into  the  ears  of  the  master.  This  was  the  only 
consistent  course  of  conduct.  In  proportion  as 
we  taught  submission- to  the  slave,  we  should  en- 
join repentance  and  restitution  upon  the  master. 
Nay,  more,  said  Mr.  Thompson,  if  we  teach  sub- 
mission to  the  slave,  we  are  bound  to  exert  our 
own  peaceful  energies  for  his  deliverance. 

'Shall  we  say  to  the  slave,  '  Avenge  not  your- 
self,' and  be  silent  ourselves  in  respect  to  his 
wrongs  ? 

'  Shall  we  say,  '  Honor  and  obey  your  masters,' 
and  ourselves  neglect  to  warn  and  reprove  those 
masters  ? 

12 


134  MEETING    AT 

•Shall  we  denounce  'carnal  weapons,'  which 
are  the  only  ones  the  slaves  can  use,  and  neglect 
to  employ  our  moral  and  spiritual  weapons  in 
their  behalf? 

'  Shall  we  tell  them  to  beat  their  'swords  into 
ploughshares,'  and  their  'spears  into  pruning 
hooks,'  and  neglect  to  give  them  them  the  '  sword 
of  the  spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God  ? ' 

'Let  us  be  consistent.  The  principles  of  peace 
and  the  forgiveness  of  injuries,  are  quite  compat- 
ible with  a  bold,  heroic  and  uncompromising  hos- 
tility to  sin,  and  a  war  of  extermination  with  eve- 
ry principle,  part  and  practice  of  American  sla- 
very. I  hope  no  drop  of  blood  will  stain  our  ban- 
ner of  triumph  and  liberty.  I  hope  no  wail  of  the 
widow  or  the  orphan  will  mingle  with  the  shouts 
of  our  Jubilee.  I  trust  ours  will  be  a  battle  which 
the  '  Prince  of  Peace  '  and  curs  a  victory  which 
angels  can  applaud.' 

Mr.  T.  then  proceeded.  He  had  not  incited 
the  slaves  to  insurrection,  neither  had  he  inter- 
fered with  the  politics  of  the  country.  He  had 
indeed  seen  and  heard  a  great  deal  of  Whigism, 
and  Jacksonism,  and  Van  Burenism,  and  other 
isms,  (laughter,)  but  he  had  never  been  ambitious 
to  have  a  seat  in  Congress,  the  more  especially 
as  when  sitting  in  deliberation,  the  members 
might  hear  the  slaves,  passing  by,  clanking  their 
chains,  and  singing  'Hail  Columbia.'  His  ambi- 
tion had  been  to  go  into  the  parlors — the  stage 
coaches— and  the" steamboats  ;  into  the  Churches 
of  the  Methodists — the  Friends — the  Baptists — 
tho  Congregationalism — and  the  Presbyterians, 
telling  tJip  truth,  and  asking  those  whom  he  ad- 
dressed to  open  thp  prison  doors  and  let  the  op- 
pressed go  free.  Still,  public  lectures  were  the 
principal  means  by  which  he  endeavored  to  fulfil 


GLASGOW.  135 

the  object  of  his  mission  ;  these  other  little  things 
he  gave  in  and  charged  nothing  for.  He  had  de- 
livered 2'20  public  addresses,  and  atsome  of  these 
he  had  been  well  mobbed.  After  leaving  his 
friends  at  Liverpool  he  had  got  over  the  Atlantic, 
and  into  the  Atlantic,  and  was  turned  out  of  the 
Atlantic.  So  soon  as  he  landed  lie  got  into  an 
Inn  named  the  Atlantic.  (Great  Laughter.)  lie 
kept  himself  very  quiet,  but  the  brass  plates  on 
his  trunks  divulged  his  name,  and  next  day  the 
landlord  was  beset  by  some  southern  gentlemen, 
who  demanded  his  expulsion.  He  was  brought 
to  the  '  bar,'  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  word,  and 
was  there  told  by  the  landlord  that  he  would  con- 
sult his  own  safety  by  changing  his  quarters.  He 
subsequently  went  forth  to  lecture,  but  this  was 
not  effected  without  danger.  lie  had  addressed 
as  large  and  attentive  audiences  as  that  before 
which  he  now  stood,  and  had  poured  the  princi- 
ples of  abolition  fifty  fathoms  in  their  souls,  while 
the  brickbats  and  other  missiles  were  flying 
around  him.  Another  object  of  his  mission  was 
to  arouse  the  country,  and  the  country  was  rous- 
ed, as  country  never  was  roused  before.  Fifteen 
hundred  newspapers  were  circulated  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,  and  of  these  not  one  which  docs  not 
speak  of  Abolition.  Every  one  there  now  speaks 
oftlie  humble  individual  who  now  stood  before 
them,  from  the  President,  who  had  honored  him 
by  special  notice  in  the  Message  to  Congress, 
down  to  the  humblest  demagogue  who  sought  to 
r>de  into  a  despicable  popularity,  by  pouring  out 
the  most  unmeasured  abuse  on  that  '  most  horrid 
miscreant,  and  worst  of  all  conceivable  black- 
guards, George  Thompson,  the  Abolitionist.  But 
some  cautious  friend  may  exclaim,  that  he  is  not 
to  be  taken  in  by  these  declarations.     If  all  tho 


136  MEETING  AT 

journals  are  unfavorable  to  Abolition,  what  is 
•rained  by  making  them  speak  on  the  subject  ? 
Nut  so  fast,  good  friend,  he  would  reply.  Amer- 
ican newspapers  were  not  all  against  Abolition  ; 
on  the  contrary  there  were  now  fifty  in  favor  of 
it  for  one — that  was  when  he  went  first  to  Amer- 
ica. And  in  on'er  that  they  might  see  the  im- 
portance of  this,  he  might  remind  them  that  re- 
forms or  changes  did  not  proceed  so  slowly  in 
America  as  in  this  country.  There  they  proceed- 
ed in  everything  by  a  geometrical  ratio,  not  an 
arithmetical,  not  by  one,  two,  three,  four,  but  by 
one,  two,  four,  eight,  sixteen.  (Cheers.)  If  lie 
were  asked  what  his  object  was  in  all  these  ef- 
forts, he  would  answer  simply,  that  it  was  to 
awaken  public  opinion.  This  object  had  been 
fully  accomplished,  and  the  conjoined  influence 
made  to  flow  into  one  grand  channel — the  Amer- 
ican Abolition  Society.  This  mighty  engine  was 
fairly  in  operation,  and  its  results  would  be  incal- 
culably great.  In  the  Northern  States,  and  in 
New  England,  especially,  the  people  were  well 
educated — they  could  enter  upon  an  argument, 
and  conduct  it  pretty  fairly  ;  all  thoy  needed  was 
just  that  the  matter  should  be  set  before  them. 
He  was  particularly  anxious  that  the  mass  should 
be  moved  on  this  subject.  Were  it  taken  up  by 
the  unwashed,  as  the  working  classes  wore  called 
by  those  who,  but  for  that  very  class,  would  never 
have  been  washed  perhaps,  (great  laughter,)  ho 
was  sure  that  it  would  soon  be  brought  to  an  end. 
In  talking  of  the  various  modes  which  ought  to 
be  adopted  for  advancing  the  cause  of  abolition, 
Mr.  Thompson  recommended  that  the  question 
should  be  made  a  test  o^  church  membership ; 
and  that  no  one  having  property  in   slaves,  or  ad' 


GLASGOW.  137 

"be  allowed  to  enter  any  of  their  pulpits.  This 
was  already  done  by  the  Society  of  Friends,  and 
also  by  that  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterians,  these 
two  were  worthy  exceptions  to  the  general  prac- 
tice, and  had  done  honor  to  themselves  by  their 
active  exertions  in  the  cause.  (Great  applause.) 
The  slave  owner  might  ask  what  he  could  do  in 
the  cause?  Let  him  emancipate  his  slaves, 
would  be  his  answer.  But  the  slave  owner  would 
reply  that  he  could  not — the  laws  would  not  per- 
mit him.  But  who  made  the  laws  ?  it  might  be 
asked.  Why,  this  very  slave  owner  himself  had 
possibly  a  hand  in  making  the  very  law  he  com- 
plained of.  Such  a  petty  mode  of  excuse  was 
very  much  like  that  of  a  child  of  whom  he  once 
heard.  A  little  girl  was  left  at  home  one  day  by 
her  mother,  who,  on  going  out,  gave  her  daugh- 
ter some  particular  work  to  have  finished  by  the 
time  she  returned.  On  entering  the  house  she 
found  that  the  girl  had  not  obeyed  her  orders. 
Why  did  you  not  do  what  I  bade  you,  said  the 
mother?  Oh!  because  I  was  tied  to  the  mahog- 
any table,  said  the  child.  But  who  tied  you  to 
the  mahogany  table,  asked  the  mother  ?  Oh,  it 
was  just  myself.  This  was  the  way  with  the 
slave  owner.  He  had  tied  himself  to  the  mahog- 
any table  and  then  pretended  to  be  helpless. 
(Loud  laughter  and  cheers.)  But  the  best  way 
with  a  bad  law  was  to  resist  it.  Obedience  to 
bad  laws  had  been  a  curse  to  the  world  from  the 
beginning  of  time.  It  was  only  by  passively  re- 
sisting a  bad  law  that  its  gross  injustice  could  be 
made  fully  manifest.  In  illustration  of  the  mode 
in  which  passive  resistance  to  bad  laws  might  be 
carried  on,  he  referred  to  the  Friends,  who,  rath- 
er than  serve  in  the  militia,  pay  the  fine,  (or  pre- 
fer suffering  the  penalty,)  imposed  on  them  by 
\Z 


133  MEETING  AT 

Government.  Women  might  ask  what  they  could 
do  in  the  cause?  He  (the  eloquent  Lecturer) 
would  answer,  they  could  do  everything  to  mould 
the  spirit  of  the  age.  It  was  women  alone  that 
could  play  on  that  mysterious  instrument — the 
infant  mind,  she  only  could  touch  aright  its  stops 
and  keys,  and  teach  it  to  discourse  most  skilfully. 
He  then  referred  to  the  noble  exertions  of  the 
Glasgow  ladies  in  the  cause  of  abolition,  and 
gave  a  glowing  account  of  the  Christian  heroism 
displayed  by  the  ladies  of  Boston,  when  threaten- 
ed by  the  mob  of  gentlemen  in  that  city.  It  had 
been  often  asked  what  good  you  could  effect 
though  you  were  able  to  convert  the  whole  of  the 
Northern  States.  To  this  he  had  answered — 
— Why  so  many  speeches  about  Poland  ?  about 
the  suffering  Greeks  ?  about  the  glorious  three 
days  of  Paris?  about  the  freedom  earned  by  the 
Belgians?  Mr.  Thompson  then  related  an  anec- 
dote exposing  in  a  most  happy  manner  the  false 
philanthropy  often  manifested  in  professing  great 
sympathy  with  distress  at  a  distance,  while  dis- 
tress at  home  is  totally  overlooked.  He  pictured 
out  the  females  of  a  Virginia  family  as  enthusias- 
tically engaged  in  providing  clothes  for  the  suf- 
fering Greek,  Avhen  a  straight  forward  friend 
makes  his  appearance  amongst  them.  The  friend 
of  course  enquires  what  it  is  that  takes  up  so 
much  of  their  attention,  and  is  told  that  they  are 
anxious  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  poor 
Greeks,  suffering  under  the  tyranny  of  the  slave 
dealing  Turks.  The  stranger  walks  out,  but 
speedily  returns.  I  am  happy  to  inform  you,  said 
he,  that  you  have  Greeks  at  your  door.  Greeks 
at  the  door,  shouted  the  overjoyed  philanthropists? 
Yes,  said  the  friend  ;  and  immediately  pointed 
out  to  his  astonished  and  abashed  acquaintances, 


GLASGOW.  139 

the  poor,  ragged,  wretched  negroes,  who  were 
tnade  to  lead  a  life  of  misery  in  the  land  of  their 
birth,  but  to  whose  sufferings,  the  accursed  influ- 
ence of  their  evil  habits  had  rendered  their  mis- 
tress callous.  He  (Mr.  T.)  had  endeavored  to 
•show  that  we  have  Greeks  at  our  own  doors — 
suffering  fellow  beings,  well  entitled  to  our  sym- 
pathies, and  our  helping  hand.  Public  opinion, 
that  excellent  doctor  would  lend  his  assistance, 
and  he  was  a  friend  that  no  obstacle  could  inter- 
rupt. With  his  seven  league  boots  he  proceed- 
ed on  his  rapid  march  ;  no  river  or  mountain 
could  stay  his  course,  he  would  ascend  the  Ohio, 
and  descend  the  Mississippi  ;  travel  a  lone  road, 
and  penetrate  every  jungle,  with  a  speed  which 
nothing  could  equal  and  a  form  which  nothing 
could  resist.  Mr.  T.  then  adverted  to  the  annual 
emigration  of  the  rich  inhabitants  of  the  South- 
ern States  to  the  North,  which  takes  place  during 
the  warm  and  unhealthy  months  of  summer  and 
autumn.  Sixty,  seventy,  or  eighty  thousand 
Southerners,  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  Legisla- 
tors, Planters,  and  Merchants,  with  their  families 
emigrate  in  this  journey  in  quest  of  health. 
Every  boarding  house  is  filled  with  the  strangers 
during  those  months,  and  scarcely  a  family  but 
has  some  friend  come  to  lodge  with  them  during 
the  season  from  the  South.  Scarce  a  church  but 
has  several  pews  filled  with  these  interesting 
strangers  ;  and  very  beautiful  most  of  the  ladies 
and  children  are.  It  was  impossible,  he  said,  if 
the  doctrines  of  abolition  were  widely  diffused 
over  the  non-slaveholding  states  that  this  inter- 
course could  take  place  without  the  slaveholders 
acquiring  juster  notions  on  this  all-important  sub- 
ject. They  would  hear  its  truths  from  the  pulpit, 
and  in  the  lecture  room.     This  would  impart  the 


140  MEETING  AT  GLASGOW. 

influence  as  of  a  moral  infirmary,  and  they  would 
return,  not  only  with  their  bodies  in  health,  but 
with  their  minds  imbued  with  a  renovated  moral 
sentiment.  Mr.  T.  concluded  his  address  with 
an  eloquent  peroration. 

The  Chairman,  in  closing  the  meeting,  said  he 
was  sure  all  present  would  respond  to  what  had 
been  said  by  those  around  him,  that  they  approv- 
ed of  all  they  had  heard  from  their  excellent 
Missionary.  (Great  cheering.)  The  Rev.  Dr. 
observed  that  it  was  impossible  to  foresee  what 
even  one  man  could  do  by  undaunted  persever- 
ance in  a  good  cause.  (Renewed  cheering.)  He 
concluded  by  urging  the  meeting  to  furnish  them- 
selves with  tickets  of  admission  for  the  next  lec- 
ture, as  no  tickets  would  be  sold,  nor  money 
taken,  at  the  doors. 


ADDRESS, 

BY    THE    COMMITTEE    OF     THE 

GLASGOW  EMANCIPATION  SOCIETY, 

To  the  Ministers  of  Religion  in  particular,  and 
the  Friends  of  JVegro  Emancipation,  in  gener- 
al, on  American  Slavery. 

Esteemed  Christian  Friends, 

It  is  in  no  spirit  of  hostility  to  America,  that  we 
now  solicit  your  co-operation  in  striving  to  expe- 
dite the  extinction  of  its  Slavery.  There  may  be 
those  who  denounce  the  £uilt  of  its  oppressions, 
in  hatred  and  terror  of  its  liberal  institutions. 
But  with  these  Ave  have  no  sympathy.  Nor  is 
it  to  these  we  now  principally  address  ourselves  ; 
for  it  will  be  found,  if  we  mistake  not,  that  they 
took  little  part  in  attaining1  emancipation  for  the 
Slaves  of  our  own  Colonies,  and  are  no  way  dis- 
posed to  exert  themselves  for  the  suppression  of 
those  evils  in  America,  through  which  alone  they 
can,  with  any  hope  of  success,  assail  its  disrelished 
virtues. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  thought  by  some,  that  we 
should  rather  veil  than  expose  the  errors  of  our 
trans-Atlantic  brethren,  with  which  their  exalt- 
ed principles  arc  practically   associated,  lest  we 


142  ADDRESS. 

involve  good  and  bad  in  the  same  common  oblo- 
quy. But  such  temporising  expediency,  such  de- 
reliction of  duty  in  apprehension  of  consequences 
is  the  very  prop  and  stay  of  that  hateful  and  hat- 
ed system  which  we  desire  to  overthrow;  and  for 
ourselves,  we  fear  nothing  in  vindicating  the 
cause  of  him  who  was  annointedto  proclaim  liber- 
ty to  the  captives. 

But  why,  it  may  be  asked,  were  not  such  rep- 
resentations and  remonstrances  employed  sooner  ? 
American  Slavery  is  of  long  standing  ;  why  then 
are  we  only  now  bestirring  ourselves  for  its  abo- 
lition ?  This  sort  of  objection  might  be  reasona- 
bly urged  were  we  defending  the  immaculacy  of 
our  past  conduct ;  but  if  we  have  been  reprehen- 
sibly  negligent  hitherto,  that  is  no  reason  for  ne- 
glecting duty  still :  on  the  contrary,  we  are  the 
more  bound  to  improve,  promptly  and  indefatiga- 
bly,  what  opportunities  remain  for  its  vigorous 
performance.  If  additional  obligations,  however, 
were  necessary,  they  are  not  wanting.  The 
emancipation  of  all  Slaves  in  the  British  Empire, 
precludes  other  nations  from  now  meeting  us  with 
the  reproach.  Physician  heal  thyself;  and  arms 
us  with  a  moral  influence,  for  the  use  of  which 
we  are  solemnly  responsible.  It  is  true  our  Col- 
onial negroes  are  not  wholly  free,  but  wherein 
our  example  is  here  deficient,  our  experience  is 
the  more  admonitory,  and  we  can  assure  all  whom 
the  assurance  may  reach,  that  our  Emancipation 
Act  has  wrought  well  in  all  but  its  qualifications 
— that  in  Antigua  and  the  Bermudas,  where  the 
boon  of  freedom  was  bestowed,  unmodified,  all 
is  contentment  and  comparative  prosperity  ;  and 
that  as  the  result  of  the  whole,  we  desire  all  ex- 
patriated Africans  to  be  as  our's  now  are,  except- 
ing their  Apprenticeship. 


ADDRESS.  143 

The  ample  and  accurate  intelligence  now  pos- 
sessed, as  to  the  state  of  American  Society,  like- 
wise augments  the  obligation  to  exert  ourselves 
for  its  amendment.  We  knew  there  were  Slaves 
in  the  United  States,  but  we  did  not  know  till  late- 
ly that  nearly  two  millions  and  a  half  of  the  in- 
habitants are  in  a  State  of  Slavery.  We  knew 
that  people  of  color,  even  though  free,  were  re- 
garded with  prejudice,  but  we  did  not  know  that 
they  are  subjected  to  a  ceaseless  and  systema- 
tized ignominy  from  which  the  sanctuary  itself, 
and  even  the  table  of  the  Lord,  afford  them  no 
retreat  or  protection.  It  was  matter  of  notoriety 
that  Abolitionists  in  America  shared  the  jealousy 
of  all  magnanimous  philanthropists;  but  the  threat- 
enings  and  slaughters  breathed  out  against  them 
by  the  periodical  press,  by  ministers  and  magis- 
trates, Presbyteries  and  States,  have  incalcula- 
bly exceeded  our  darkest  suspicions,  and  filled 
us  not  less  with  astonishment  than  abhorrence. 

But  what  have  you  to  do  with  us,  our  Ameri- 
can brethren  may  ask  ?  Why,  being  foreigners, 
intermeddle  with  our  domestic  institutions  ?  And 
what  have  you  to  do,  we  reply,  with  the  heathen 
nations,  to  whom,  on  a  scale  so  magnificent,  you 
are  sending  devoted,  undaunted,  Missionaries? 
Why  molest  their  household  economy  by  aspers- 
ing their  household  gods  ?  Is  it  alleged  that 
the  cases  are  different?  Our  reply  is — the  same 
word  which  condemns  idols  condemns  instru- 
ments of  cruelty,  and  furnishes  the  maxim  alike 
applicable  to  both: — Thou  shalt  in  any  wise 
rebuke  thy  neighbour,  and  net  suffer  sin  upon 
him.  The  cavil,  however  is  so  weak,  as  to  be 
unworthy  of  refutation.  Were  we  reasoning 
with  idolators  who  say,  keep  your  gods  and  we 
shall  keep  ours,  we  might  patiently  expound  our 


144  ADDRESS. 

conviction  that  there  is  but  one  true  God,  and 
one  true  religion,  and  plead  the  consequent  ne- 
cessity laid  upon  us,to  press  the  universal  adoption 
of  that  faith  and  fulfilment  of  that  law,  which  alone 
we  account  divine,  and  acceptable,  and  saving. 
But  how  can  we  composedly  dilate  on  these  first 
principles  of  the  oracles  of  God  to  American 
Christians,  who  are  at  the  very  moment  prosecut- 
ing efforts  of  gloriously  aggressive  benevolence  ? 
Such  works  are  to  us  more  expressive  than  words, 
and  adopting  the  former  as  our  model,  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  latter,  we  shall  extend  the  same  fidel- 
ity to  America  as  America  to  other  nations. 

Will  you  not,  esteemed  Christian  friends,  aid 
us  in  this  work  and  labor  of  love  ?  Think  what 
is  due  to  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  which  slavery  in  all 
its  forms  obstructs,  outrages  and  defies.  Con- 
sider what  we  owe  to  the  subjugated,  and,  even 
when  liberated,  still  abused  negro.  Suppose  him 
all  that  malevolence  would  pronounce  him,  are 
we  not  equally  with  an  apostle,  made  debtors  to 
the  barbarians  as  well  as  to  the  Greeks,  by  that 
holy  religion,  which  proclaims  God  to  have  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  that  dwell  on  the  face  ot 
the  earth,  which  enjoins  to  loose  the  bands  ot 
wickedness — to  undo  the  heavy  burdens — to  let 
the  oppressed  go  free — to  break  every  yoke  ;  and 
whose  comprehensive  commission,  as  delivered 
by  a  once  crucified,  but  then  risen  Redeemer,  is 
— Go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature  ?  But  many  of  these  stolen,  en- 
slaved, insulted  strangers,  are  accredited  follow- 
ers of  the  Lamb  of  God.  They  are  not  merely 
bone  of  our  bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh,  but  mem- 
bers of  that  one  whole  family,  that  is  named  in 
Christ,  bought  with  the  same  blood  as  ourselves, 
sanctified  by  the  same  spirit,  crying  on  the  same 


ADDRESS.  145 

footing  of  adoption,  Abba  Father.  How  then 
shall  we  behold  unmoved,  the  anguish  of  their 
souls,  and  not  be  verily  guilty  concerning  our 
brethren  ?  How  shall  we  hear  of  their  cruel 
bondage,  and  imagine  while  acting,  as  if  we  knew 
it  not,  that  we  are  remembering  those  that  are  in 
bonds  as  bound  with  them,  and  them  that  suffer 
adversity  as  being  ourselves  also  in  the  body  ? 

Think  what  claims  the  Emancipationists  of 
America  have  on  our  resolute  co-agency.  Among 
these  are  to  be  found  some  of  the  noblest  spirits 
of  the  age — the  brightest  examples  of  humanity 
and  religion.  In  naming  some,  we  may  be  wrong- 
ing others,  but  these  will  the  most  readily  excuse 
us,  for  instancing  Lundy,  Garrison,  Tappan,  Bir- 
ney,  Cox  and  Jay — men  who  have  not  only  en- 
gaged their  superior  powers,  and  not  only  sacri- 
ficed their  time  and  their  property,  but  braved  a 
hurricane  of  obloquy  and  danger,  placing  life  it- 
self in  jeopardy  to  effect  the  liberation  of  the  op- 
pressed African.  Our  efficient  interposition  would 
strengthen  the  hands  and  gladden  the  heart  of 
such  men — would  enhance  the  credit  of  the  un- 
dertaking with  their  countrymen — increase  the 
number  of  its  supporters,  enfeeble  the  hostility  of 
its  opponents,  and  every  way  hasten  their  ulti- 
mate victory.  What,  then,  nre  all  our  lauded 
principles — what  our  high-sounding  professions, 
if  wo  deny  to  such  benefactors  a  fraternal  alli- 
ance at  once  bo  easy  to  us  and  pernicious  to  them  ? 
At  the  same  time  to  be  precious  it  must  be  im- 
mediate. One  year  hence,  these  regenerators  of 
their  country  may  less  need  our  assistance.  In 
a  few  years  hence  their  names  will  certainly  be 
honored  by  the  very  classes  who  now  execrate 
them.  But  if  they  live  to  see  the  effect  of  their 
exertions  in  this  transformation  of  public  opinion, 


146 


ADDRESS. 


they  will  look  back  from  amid  the  admiring  mid- 
day throng  to  remember  and  acknowledge  those 
earliest  allies  who  first  joined  their  imperiled 
standard,  helping  them  when  they  needed  help, 
approving  and  supporting  them  while  yet  viliried 
and  assailed. 

In  a  word,  reflect  what  is  duty  to  the  slave- 
holders themselves.  Are  they  not  objects  of 
Christian  philanthropy,  the  victims  of  a  bondage 
so  much  worse  than  that  which  thry  inflict,  as 
voluntary  sin  is  more  dreadful  than  is  voluntary 
suffering.  It  is  true  they  may  disrelish  our  ex- 
postulation, but  the  more  it  is  disliked  the  more 
it  is  needed,  and  to  wink  at  the  oifence  is  to  con- 
tract its  guilt. 

In  whatever  light,  then,  we  contemplate  the 
subject  it  imperatively  requires  us  to  be  up  and 
doing.  There  is  no  escape  from  the  responsibil- 
ity. The  opinion  of  this  country  will  be  estima- 
ted by  its  expression,  and  wherever  it  is  not  cx- 
pressed,  silence  will  be  construed  into  consent. 
Such  a  construction  would  be,  indeed,  utterly 
groundless.  Tiiere  are  some,  who  deplore,  and 
others  who  deride,  and  a  few,  it  may  be,  who  pal- 
liate, but  who  are  they  of  our  population  that  de- 
fend the  Slavery  of  America  ?  If  any  speak  of 
gradual  cure,  it  is  not  so  much  as  being  necessary 
to  the  negro,  a  dogma  which  the  recent  history 
of  our  colonies  has  signally  exploded,  but  to  the 
masters,  who  cannot  be  expected,  it  seems,  to  act 
righteously  all  on  a  sudden,  after  being  so  long 
habituated  to  extreme  unrighteousness,  and  must 
needs  themselves  go  through  an  apprenticeship 
to  prepare  them  for  dealing  justly  and  loving  mer- 
cy !  This  is  the  highest  pleading  proffered  in  our 
country  to  trans- Atlantic, Slavery.  And  will  high- 
minded    America  accept  of  th  is  vindication?     It 


ADDRESS.  147 

cannot  be,  and  next,  therefore,  to  earnest  remon- 
strance, we  desire  nothing  more  earnestly  than  a 
publication  of  this  defence  from  our  neutrals  of 
non-interference;  for,  if  such  be  the  vindication  of 
America,  what  is  its  condemnation  ?  It  any,  how- 
ever be  speechless,  their  taciturnity  will  be  mis- 
construed, and  all,  therefore,  who  do  not  inter- 
pose to  dissever,  are  powerfully,  though  indirectly 
confirming  the  delusions  of  the  oppressor  and  the 
calamities  of  the  oppressed.  The  question  then, 
is  not  whether  we  shall  be  actionless,  but 
whether  we  shall  do  good  or  evil  ;  not  whether 
we  shall  take  a  side,  but  which  side  we  shall  take  ; 
for,  whosoever  in  this  cause  is  not  with  Christ,  is 
against  him,  and  he  who  gathereth  not  with  him, 
scattereth.  Surely  Christians  cannot  waver  be- 
tween these  alternatives.  They  came  to  a  de- 
cision in  relation  to  our  own  colonies,  and  how 
glorious  is  the  result!  As  a  political  question, 
the  abolishing  of  slavery  has  been  agitated  for 
half  a  century  in  vain,  the  strongest  arguments 
from  expediency  achieving  no  perceptible  ad- 
vancement; but  no  sooner  was  it  discussed  as  a 
religious  question,  than  the  mountains  were  lev- 
elled and  the  valleys  filled  before  the  resistless 
march  of  christian  principle.  How  animating  is 
the  encouragement  afforded  by  this  success. 
And  let  it  not  be  said  that  the  influence  so  avail- 
ing here  is  insusceptible  of  extention  to  foreign 
shores.  Were  we  reasoning  on  merely  civil 
grounds,  we  might  be  told  of  the  difference  of 
civil  condition  :  but  we  argue  on  spiritual  grounds, 
and  derive  our  arguments  from  the  World  which 
owns  no  distinction  of  kindred  or  of  clime. 

Already  our  Christian  influence  with  America 
has  been  tested  and  established.  What  good  has 
been   already  effected  by  Mr.  G.  Thompson,  our 


148  ADDRESS. 

eloquent  and  devoted  deputy.*  !  Once  we  sent 
thousands  to  subjugate  America,  and  with  all  the 
prowess  of  British  arms  and  courage,  and  tactics, 
they  failed  in  the  enterprise.  More  recently  we 
sent  our  combatant,  and  him  unarmed,  to  liberate 
America's  oppressed  millions  by  speaking  the 
truth.  And  what  lias  been  the  result?  He  has 
fled.  Yes,  as  Paul  fled  from  Iconium  and  Lystra, 
to  escape  the  jealousy  and  hatred  consequent  up- 
on conquest.  He  has  retreated,  leaving  behind 
him  nearly  f300  immediate  abolition  societies,  in 
great  part  the  fruit  of  his  benevolent  mission. 
Were  Britain  then  to  exert  fully  its  moral  power, 
or  rather  by  individual  fidelity  to  call  down  the 
full  blessing  from  on  High,  American  Slavery,  we 
are  free  to  anticipate,  could  not  withstand  the  on- 
set. Let  ministers,  and  Elders,  and  Deacons, 
exert  their  appropriate  influence  with  the  flocks 
of  which  they  are  the  responsible  overseers.  Let 
the  several  churches  and  ecclesiastical  courts  and 
congregational  unions  proclaim,  in  affectionate 
but  faithful  accents,  their  deep  and  painful  and 
universal  impression  of  America's  blame-worthi- 
ness. These  means,  though  simple,  are  invinci- 
ble— they  must  prevail. 

Before  the  first  shock  of  weapons,  not  carnal, 
wielded  by  a  mighty  and  united  people,  the  surest 
strong  hold  of  oppression,  will  rend,  and  shake, 
and  fall.  And  when  Slavery  expires  in  America, 
where  shall  it  survive  ?  With  such  desertion 
from  its  ranks  and  accession  to  its  assailants, 
where  and  with  what  resources  shall  it  mantain  its 
ground  ?     We  are   bold   to   reply  nowhere  and 


*  The  services  of  Captain  Stuart  deserves  also  to  be 
acknowledged  as  most  arduous  and  valuable, 
t  There  are  now  above  500. 


ADDRESS.  149 

nohow.  The  battle  now  fought  in  Columbia  de- 
cides for  the  world.  All  nations,  accounting  it 
final,  look  on  with  generous  hope  or  interested 
fear ;  and  when  victory  declares,  as  it  shall  de- 
clare, so  surely  as  God  is  true,  for  the  friends  of 
injured  humanity,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  must 
speedily  participate  in  the  joyful  consummation 
— transcendent  Jubilee,  inferior  only  to  that  which 
it  shall  accompany  and  promote,  the  admission  ot 
all  the  tarnilies  of  the  earth  into  the  glorious  InV 
erty  of  the  children  of  God, 
Glasgow,  April  10th,  183G. 
13* 


SECOND  ANNUAL  MEETING 

OF  THE  GLASGOW  EMANCIPATION  SOCIETY. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  March  1st,  1830,  the 
Second  Annual  Meeting  of  the  above  Society 
was  held  in  the  Reverend  Dr.  Hough's  Chapel. 
At  seven  o'clock,  the  hour  of  meeting,  the  church 
was  filled  to  excess,  with  a  highly  respectable 
audience.  In  the  absence  of  Robert  Grahame, 
Esq.,  President  of  the  Society,  Mr.  Beith  propos- 
ed that  Dr.  Wardiaw  should  take  the  chair,  which 
was  agreed  to  by  acclamation. 

The  Chairman  expressed  his  regret  at  the  ab- 
sence of  their  respected  President.  He  loved  to 
see  that  worthy  individual  among  them,  embued 
as  he  was  with  a  fervent  hatred  of  oppression  un- 
der every  form. — (Cheers.)  If  wrath  ever  anima- 
ted his  bosom,  it  was  only  when  he  looked  at  the 
conduct  of  those  who  would  prevent  mankind 
from  enjoyinsr  that  freedom  which  is  their  natural 
birthright.  They  saw  in  him  the  ruling  pcssion 
strong  a-  ever — long  might  it  be  before  they  saw 
it,  as  the  poet  said,  strong  in  death,  but  long 
might  they  witness  its  strength  and  vicror  in  a 
good  old  age.     (Loud  cheering.)     With  these  re- 


MEETING    AT    GLASGOW.  151 

marks  he  would  sit  down.  As  he  saw  from  the 
programme  of  the  evening's  proceedings,  whicli 
he  held  in  his  hand,  that  there  were  many  excel- 
lent speakers  to  move  the  various  resolutions,  it 
would  therefore  be  highly  improper  in  him  to 
occupy  that  time  which  belonged  to  those  who 
would  follow. 

Mr.  William  Smeal,  Jun.,  one  of  the  Secre- 
taries, then  read  portions  of  the  annual  report  of 
the  Society.     The  report  referred  at  length  to  the 
labors  of  Mr.  Thompson  in  the  cause  of  abolition 
in  the  United  States  ;  but  as  the  particulars  have 
been  already  before  the  public,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  go  over  them.     In  reference  to  the  signal  care 
with  which  Providence  had  watched  over  the  life 
of  Mr.  Thompson  during  his  labors  in  America, 
the   committee    express  their  deepest   thankful- 
ness.    Mr.   Thompson  had   gone   out   from  this 
country  to  the  United  States  on  one  of  the  most 
important  missions  that  ever  had  been  undertaken 
by  man.     He  had  labored  zealously  in  the  cause  ; 
nor  did  he  think  of  leaving  that  country  till  strong- 
ly urged   to  do   so   by  the    friends  of  abolition. 
While  engaged  in  his  hazardous  enterprise  he  was 
exposed  to  all  the  calumny  and  vilification  which 
could  be  heaped  on  his  head  by  those  whose  inter- 
est or  prejudices  made  them  supporters  of  slavery . 
This  was  to  be  expected  ;  but  he  had  also  to  suf- 
fer from  the  desertion  of  those  who  were  deemed 
the  friends  of  liberty.     The  liberal  press  of  this 
country  had  but  feebly  seconded  his  efforts.    With 
few  exceptions,   the    newspapers   assuming  that 
name,  had  stood  aloof,  and  some  had  even  joined 
the  malignant  outcry  against  him.     A  few,  how- 
ever, had  stood  out,  and  among  these  the  commit- 
tee could  not  refrain  from  mentioning,  amongst 


152  MEETING  AT 

others,  tha  London  Patriot,  and,  in  our  own  city 
the  Glasgow  Chronicle.  A  long  panegyric  was 
here  passed  on  the  exertions  of  the  latter  journal, 
for  its  long  advocacy  of  the  claims  of  the  Negro, 
and  in  particular  for  its  bold  defence  of  Mr. 
Thompson,  when  exposed  to  the  calumnies  of  his 
opponents.  In  conclusion,  the  committee  refer- 
red with  pain  to  the  conduct  of  certain  members 
of  the  deputations  from  the  Baptist  and  other  So- 
cieties of  this  country  to  the  United  States,  in  re- 
gard to  their  treatment  of  Mr.  Thompson.  Dr. 
Cox  of  Hackney,  was  a  member  of  the  first  named 
deputation.  He  was  a  member  of  that  society 
which  had  sent  Mr.  Thompson  to  America  ;  and 
it  might  have  been  expected  that  he  would  glad- 
ly have  assisted  him  in  his  arduous  labors.  In- 
stead of  that,  however,  he  had  flatly  refused  to 
attend  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  in  New- York,  where  he  was  ex- 
pected to  move  one  of  the  resolutions,  on  the 
ground  that  his  coming  forward  in  that  manner 
would  interfere  with  the  political  bearings  of  the 
questions  of  Slavery.  Reference  was  made 
also  to  the  travels  of  Reed  and  Matheson,  a  work 
which,  although  written  by  two  Independent 
Ministers,  friends  of  abolition,  from  this  country, 
had  furnished  arguments  against  the  cause  which 
were  triumphantly  quoted  by  the  enemies  of  im- 
mediate emancipation.  In  reference  to  the  fu- 
ture proceedings  of  the  society,  the  committee 
recommended  that  Mr.  Thompson  should  be  em- 
ployed to  lecture  on  the  cause  in  the  various 
towns  throughout  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  in 
order  to  rouse  public  feelings  in  favor  of  the  im- 
mediate Abolition  of  Slavery  in  America.  An 
abstract  of  the  receipts  and  expenditure  for  the 
last  year  was  then  read,  from  which  it  appeared 


GLASGOW.  153 

the  amount  of  receipts  was  £247  15s.  5  l-2d  ;  of 
expenditure,  £249  14s.  2d  ;  leaving  a  ballance 
due  the  Treasurer,  £1  18s.  8  l-2d. 

The  Rev.  T.  Pullar  moved  the  first  resolu- 
tion, but  in  doing  so,  he  begged  to  be  understood 
as  entering  his  decided  protest  against  that  part 
of  it  which  expressed  disapprobation  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  English  Clergymen  in  America. 
The  resolutions  which  he  held  in  his  hands,  re- 
commended that  the  report  now  read  be  printed 
and  circulated,  and  with  the  exception  he  had 
just  mentioned,  he  would  give  the  motion  his 
most  cordial  support.  The  Rev.  Gentleman,  in  a 
very  excellent  speech,  expressed  his  deep  abhor- 
rence of  the  inhuman  conduct  of  the  Americans, 
and  his  sorrow  that  a  land  so  full  of  gospel  light, 
and  abounding  so  much  in  the  missionary  spirit, 
should  suffer  Slavery,  in  such  a  horid  form,  to 
exist  among  them.  It  was  almost  enough  to 
make  any  one  doubt  whether  those  wonderful  ac- 
counts of  religious  revivals  which  they  had  heard 
of  as  taking  place  in  America,  were  actual  ev- 
idences of  true  religion. 

The  Rev  James  PATTERSo.v,while  he  seconded 
the  resolution,  also  entered  his  protest  against 
that  part  of  it  relating  to  the  Baptist  Deputation. 
He  expressed  his  strong  disapprobation  of  the 
conduct  of  the  Baptists  in  America,  for  their  op- 
position, covert  or  open,  to  the  cause  of  Aboli- 
tion. 

Mr.  George  Thompson,  on  rising,  was  receiv- 
ed with  long,  continued,  and  enthusiastic  cheer- 
ing. He  rose,  he  said,  to  take  a  very  independ- 
ent course  with  regard  to  the  protest  which  had 
been  entered  by  the   two   speakers   who  had  im- 


154  MEETING  AT 

mediately  preceded  him.  He  knew  no  man 
after  the  flesh,  except  he  were  of  the  same  mind 
as  regarded  the  great  question  of  Emancipation. 
(Cheers.)  His  object  in  rising  at  present,  was  to 
say  that  he  thought  his  friends  had  failed  in  their 
duty  to  the  Slave,  in  entering  their  protest  against 
a  part  of  the  report  which  he  reckoned  most  im- 
portant of  all.  (Enthusiastic  Cheering.)  It  was 
well  known  to  all,  that  from  Reed's  book,  passa- 
ges had  been  quoted  with  approbation,  in  support 
of  their  doctrine,  by  the  vilest  Slavery  Journals 
of  New  York.  The  Abolitionists  were  in  that 
book  blamed  for  having  taken  two  steps,  when 
they  ought  to  have  taken  but  one  ;  they  were 
charged  with  demanding  Amalgamation  as  well 
as  Emancipation.  Was  it  right,  to  remain  silent, 
when  such  calumnies  were  circulated  by  one  who 
ought  to  have  been  a  friend  ?  He  could  assure 
them  that  all  the  sufferings  and  dangers  and  pri- 
vations he  had  endured  in  their  service,  were  as 
nothing;  he  felt  them  not,  they  troubled  not  his 
rest  by  night,  nor  his  mind  by  day,  they  were 
light  as  a  feather  compared  with  what  he  had 
suffered  from  the  publication  of  Dr.  Cox's  letter. 
And  why  should  they  be  ashamed  or  afraid  of 
expressing  their  disaprobation  of  what  was  done 
amiss  by  their  brethren  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water.  He  would  rather  reprove  those  on  this 
side  the  Atlantic,  than  those  on  the  other  side,  if 
both  were  equally  wrong.  (Cheers.)  With  re- 
ference to  Dr.  Cox,  he  would  have  them  to  remem- 
ber that  that  clergyman  had  been  sent  out  by  the 
Emancipation  Society,  and  that,  when  that  body 
spoke  of  who  should  go  it  was  agreed  that  who- 
ever was  sent  should  be  one  who  would  express 
himself  freely  on  the  abolition  question.  Know- 
ing all  this,  and  knowing  also,  that  Dr.  Cox  had 


GLASGOW.  155 

often  and  publicly  expressed  himself  warmly  in 
favor  of  immediate  abolition,  he  (Mr.  T.)  had  ex* 
pressed  his  confident  expectation,  that  when  Dr. 
Cox  should  arrive,  he  would  give  all  that  aid  to 
the  cause  which  his  fame  and  talents  could  afford. 
He  needed  not  to  tell  them  how  much  he  had 
been  disappointed,  but  he  might  mention  that  the 
slavery  papers  of  New  York,  which  had  one  day 
been  heaping  upon  Dr.  Cox  the  vilest  terms 
which  language  could  furnish,  were,  the  very 
next  day — the  day  after  his  declining  to[appear 
at  the  abolition  meeting,  filled  with  the  encomi- 
ums of  Dr.  Cox,  and  calling  on  him  (Mr.  T.)  to  quit 
the  country,  founding  their  arguments  for  it  on 
the  very  letter  which  Dr.  Cox  had  written.  Ho 
would  ask  then  if  this  should  not  have  been  men- 
tioned in  the  report?  (Cries  of  yes,  and  cheers.) 
He  had  no  wish  to  occupy  the  time  of  the  meet- 
ing in  details  which  merely  regarded  his  own 
personal  feelings,  were  it  not  that  his  character, 
and  that  of  their  society,  were  equally  involved 
in  them  ;  and  he  could  not  but  say,  that  all  the 
calumnies,  all  the  virulence  with  which  he  had 
been  assailed  by  the  slavery  press,  was  nothing, 
compared  to  the  withering  scorn  which  had  fol- 
lowed the  publication  of  that  letter.  (Cheers.) 
When  he  thought  of  this,  and  when  he  remem- 
bered that  Read  and  Matheson's  book  was  in  the 
hands  of  almost  the  whole  of  the  religious  public, 
when  he  saw  the  passages  in  it  in  which  they 
speak  of  the  cause  of  emancipation  having  been 
thrown  back  by  the  abolitionists,  when  he  read  in 
the  New  York  Herald  an  extract  from  that  book, 
in  which  the  abolitionists  were  spoken  of  as  too  far 
advanced  for  the  age  in  which  they  lived,  where 
they  are  said  to  have  injured  the  cause  through 
their  inattention   to   expediency,   having  left  in 


156  MEETING  AT 

their  plans  nothing  to  prejudice,  nothing  to  inter- 
est, nothing  to  time.  When  such  things  as  these 
were  said,  was  it  right  they  should  remain  silent 
concerning  them  ?  (Cheers.)  He  would  call  on 
Mr.  Reed,  if  he  was  there  present,  though  he  had 
meant  to  call  on  him  first  in  the  presence  of  as- 
sembled thousands  in  London,  he  would  call  on 
him  to  show  if  ever  there  had  been  any  thing  un- 
holy, or  even  inexpedient  in  the  right  sense  of 
the  word  or  the  term,  in  the  conduct  of  the  con- 
stitution of  a  single  one  of  the  three  hundred 
and  fifty  Anti-Slavery  Societies  which  had  been 
formed  in  the  United  States.  As  to  the  charge 
brought  against  them  that  they  demanded  amal- 
gamation after  emancipation,  he  repudated  it  as 
false  and  unfounded.  They  never  spoke  of  amal- 
gamation, or  if  they  did  it  was  only  of  putting  an 
end  to  that  wicked  and  awfully  debasing  amal- 
gamation which  existed  among  the  planters  of  the 
south,  and  their  slaves.  Mr.  Reed  had,  without  a 
shadow  of  proof,  brought  a  charge  against  the  so- 
ciety which  was  sufficient  of  itself  to  ruin  the  cause 
in  the  minds  of  all  who  read  without  enquiry,  far- 
ther. He  had  spoken  of  the  agents  of  abolition 
in  the  most  disparaging  terms,  comparing  the  so- 
ciety to  a  wedge.  Mr.  Reed  said,  they  had  at- 
tempted to  force  the  broad  end  first,  and  thus  their 
efforts  had  been  worse  than  useless,  and  set 
against  them  the  very  best  friends  of  the  cause. 
Now,  who  were  these  best  friends  of  the  cause  ? 
Were  they  the  men  who  would  first  set  about 
satisfying  the  grasping  cupidity  of  the  planterwhile 
they  lent  a  deaf  ear  to  the  complaints  of  the  suf- 
fering negro,  men  who  would  attend  to  the  claims 
of  interest  before  those  of  humanity,  men  who 
would  not  stir  a  single  step  in  the  work  till  they 
had  satisfied  the  claims  of  these   dealers  in  bu- 


GLASGOW.  15# 

man  cattle?  (Cheers.)  And  these  were  to  l»e 
called  the  best  friends  of  the  negro.  (Laughter 
and  cheers.)  lie  would  again  ask,  before  sitting 
down,  if  these  things  were  to  be  passed  over  un- 
noticed in  the  report  of  their  society  ?  He  would 
enter  his  protest  against  any  such  shameful 
silence.  They  might  talk  as  they  pleased  of  Dr. 
Cox  having  occupied  the  dignified  position  of 
neutrality;  he  envied  no  such  dignity;  he  detest- 
ed neutrality  ;  he  had  almost  said  that  God  de- 
tested neutrality.  It  was  this  false  virtue  which 
stood  in  the  way  of  every  great  improvement,  it 
was  the  barrier  against  the  most  needed  reforms, 
a  shield  which  stood  betwixt  the  conscience  of 
the  slavery  advocates  and  the  pointed  rebuke 
which  the  abolitionists  aimed  at  it.  He  trusted 
that  the  report  would  be  allowed  to  stand  in  its 
original  state.  He  would  not  alter  a  word,  he 
would  not  misplace  a  single  comma  of  what  had 
been  said  with  regard  to  the  members  of  the  Bap- 
tist deputation,  he  would  rather  that  all  the  rest 
of  the  report  were  struck  out,  all  that  had  been 
said  laudatory  to  himself,  than  that  any  change 
should  he  made  on  this.  Mr.  Thompson  sat 
down   amid  long  continued  and  renewed  cheers. 

The  resolution  to  adopt  the  whole  report,  was 
carried  nearly  unanimously,  amid  tremendous 
cheers. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Ritchie  of  Edinburgh  rose  to 
propose  the  next  resolution.  It  relieved  him  to 
find,  he  had  said,  that  on  this  occasion  he  was  not 
called  on  to  speak  a  speech,  nor  yet  to  read  one 
prepared  by  himself.  What  he  had  to  read  to 
thorn  was  a  petition  proposed  to  be  sent  to  Parli- 
ament, and  the  Memorial  addressed  to  Lord  Mel- 
bourne. Havino-  read  these  documents,  Dr. 
14 


158  MEETING  AT 

Ritchie  said  he  believed  he  might  safely  lea7e 
them  to  speak  for  themselves.  They  contained 
the  sum,  and  even  the  detail?,  of  all  he  had  to 
say.  Nevertheless,  he  would  address  a  few 
words  to  them,  in  the  hope  that,  by  so  doing,  he 
might  forward  the  grand  movement,  for  he  could 
not  help  thinking-,  that  even  he,  in  his  own  place, 
might  be  useful  in  that  cause  which  he  had  so 
deeply  at  heart — the  cause  of  immediate  and  to- 
tal abolitioa.  (Cheers.)  The  contest  was  one,  no 
«loiibt,  of  a  formidable  nature  ;  but  when  he  con- 
sidered that  he  spoke  in  Glasgow — the  Geneva 
of  the  north, — when  he  saw  before  him  their  ven- 
erable Chairman  whose  hand  was  at  every  good 
work,  and  on  his  right  their  friend  Mr.  G, 
Thompson,  who  had  not  hesitated  to  descend 
into  the  lion's  den. — (Cheers.)  When  he  felt  him- 
self thus  placed,  how  could  he  be  afraid  to  speak  ? 
(Cheers.)  What  was  the  subject  ?  He  could 
not  tell.  It  was  called  slavery  ;  but  he  could  not 
express  the  misery,  the  degradation,  the  consum- 
mate wretchedness,  that  was  comprised  within  tbe 
meaning  of  that  word.  Could  he  suppose  the 
fiends  of  Pandemonium,  assembled  in  cooncil,  in 
order  to  find  out  what  Was  most  fruitful  in  every 
crime,  he  would  see  these  fiends  coming  forth  as 
slaveholders.  (Cheers.)  He  (Dr.  R.)  had,  in 
early  years,  been  convinced  of  the  evils  of  sla- 
very. His  convictions  had  been  deep  dyed — they 
had  been  dyed  in  the  wool,  (Larrrrhter.)  When* 
at  the  grammar  school,  hi?  soul  had  been  harrow- 
ed by  the  description  given  by  Clarkson  nf  that 
floating  hell — a  slave  ship.  His  sleep  had  been 
harassed  by  dreams  of  the  misery  of  thn  slaves, 
pent  up  together,  close  as  his  fingers  and  in  ap- 
partments  only  two  feet  in  height."  Keenly  as  he 
had  felt,  however,  he  still  knew  that  no  one  could; 


GLASGOW.  159 

propeily  estimate  the  miseries  of  slavery,  but  he 
who  had  been  atone  time  himself  a  slave.  It  was 
a  disgrace  to  the  age,  that  at  this  time  of  day — in 
the  nineteenth  century — it  was  necessary  to  vin- 
dicate the  rights  of  the  slave.  Had  a  seruph  been 
Laid  that  in  our  world  we  had  been  lectured  for 
5000  years  on  the  immense  value  of  truth  and  hon- 
esty, and  that  for  nearly  2000  we  had  been  taught 
to  do  unto  others  as  we  would  that  they  should  do 
unto  us— had  a  seraph  been  told  ofthis,  and  theo 
asked  where  he  was  likely  to  find  an  aristocracy 
of  the  skin  or  to  hear  of  the  right  of  the  white 
man  to  hold  his  black  brother  as  a  chattel,  he 
should  certainly  have  sought  any  where  but 
on  this  earth,  for  such  a  spectacle.  Dr.  II.  spofce 
of  the  early  advocates  of  negro  freedom- -of  Gran- 
ville Sharpe,  of  Clarkson,  and  of  Wilbcrforce — 
bat  while  lie  did  this,  he  said  he  did  not  speak  of 
these  champions  merely  because  they  wcie  old — 
he  at  all  times  liked  a  coin  of  yesterday's  mint 
better  than  one  of  Julius  Ccesar — he  spoke  of 
them  because  their  labor  of  lovo  had  been  great 
and  successful  ;  and  they  had  been  succeeded  by 
those — by  Favvell  Buxton  and  George  Thompson 
— (cheers)  whose  names  would  be  familiar  as 
household  words,  when  those  whose  fame  rested 
on  the  false  glories  of  war  would  be  totally  for- 
gotten. The  Slave  question  had  now  assumed  a 
new  aspect.  The  friends  of  the  negro  had  lately 
sent  deputations  to  London  to  aid  their  cause. 
And  why  had  they  been  so  late  in  doing  so? 
Because  it  had  been  formerly  felt  needless  to  peti- 
tion a  parliament  of  slave  owners— a  parliament 
bent  only  on  enslaving  oursclvei.  Scotsmen  were 
not  the  men  to  go  on  so  thrivelcss  an  errand  as  to 
urge  on  such  a  parliament  the  rights  of  the  negro. 
But  now  times  were  changed.     We  had  effected 


160  MEETING  AT 

our  own  emancipation,  and  we  were  resolved  also 
to  effect  that  of  the  negroes.  He  felt  proud 
when  he  reccollected  his  going  with  a  sturdy 
phalanx  of  339,  to  wait  upon  Lord  Althorp  in 
Downing  Street,  to  urge  the  policy  of  immediate 
emancipation.  He  told  his  Lordship  that  Scot- 
land had  taken  up  the  subject  on  bible  ground?, 
and  he  was  answered  by  a  Lillipu  statesman  at 
his  Lordship's  side,  that  he  did  not  doubt  of  the 
Apprenticeship's  leading  to  a  satisfactory  settle- 
ment. Yes,  said  I,  continued  the  Rev.  Doctor, 
it  will  no  doubt  lead  to  a  satisfactory  settlement 
— so  will  the  crossing  of  your  threshold  lead  to 
Edinburgh;  but  the  mischief  is  that  it's  alang  way 
till't.  He  (Dr.  Ritchie)  considered  the  Apprentice- 
ship as  a.  system  to  be  put  an  end  to  as  speedily  as 
possible.  Liberty  might  be  considered  Elysium, 
slavery  Tophet,  and  the  Apprenticeship  Purgato- 
ry. He  could  not  even  say  as  the  Papist  said — 
when  jawed  by  a  Protestant  regarding  Purgatory 
— that  he  might  gang  far'er  and  fare  waur — (a 
laugh)— he  thought  that  even  to  go  the  length  of 
positive  slavery,  would  scarcely  be  found  worse 
than  the  Purgatory  of  the  Apprenticeship. 
(Cheers.)  He  had  heard  a  great  deal  said  of  the 
support  given  to  the  slave  system  by  Baptist  and 
Presbyterian  Ministers  ;  he  would  only  say  that 
the  conduct  of  these  men  was  most  eondemnable. 
It  was  worthy  of  remark,  however,  that  Ministers 
of  the  Gospel  had  been  called  Angels,  and  that 
fallen  Angels  become  Devils.  Dr.  R.  then  point- 
ed out  the  situation  in  which  the  stipendiary  ma- 
gistrate was  placed  under  the  new  system  in  the 
West  Indian  Colonies.  On  the  one  hand  there 
came  forward  seekingjustice  the  poor  and  degra- 
ded negro  ;  on  the  other  the  wealthy  planter  ap- 
proached upon  his  nng.     The  magistrate  was  in- 


GLASGOW.  ]G1 

vited  into  the  house  of  the  plainer  and  there  regal- 
ed with  the  best  that  the  land  affords.  After  the 
feast  lie  is  called  on  to  decide  between  the  par- 
ties, and  fur  the  life  of  him,  said  Dr.  R.,  he  could 
not  decide  against  his  host.  These  magistrates 
had  been  also  brought  up  in  a  bad  school.  They 
had  served  their  apprenticeship  in  a  standing  ar- 
my, and  had  been  familiar  from  their  youth  with 
the  infliction  of  the  lash.  lie  had  heard  within 
these  few  days,  of  an  officer  in  the  army  who  was 
so  extremely  humane  as  to  superintend  the  inflic- 
tion of  the  lash  in  person.  (Cheers  and  laughter.) 
Nine  out  often  of  these  stipendiary  magistrates 
were  in  the  interest  of  the  planters.  Ought  this 
to  continue?  lie  would  hand  them  over  to  tho 
Scripture  text  for  an  answer — wo  be  unto  them 
who  establish  iniquity  by  law.  For  his  part  when 
he  saw  that  those  from  whom  the  negroes  had 
justly  anticipated  they  would  find  protection, 
were  in  league  with  their  oppressors,  he  was  as- 
tonished at  the  patience  with  which  they  had 
borne  their  injuries.  Some  might  say — some  had 
paid — that  five  years  of  apprenticeship  was  a  mere 
trifle.  Would  any  one  present  like  to  suffer  for 
five  years  all  those  miseries  which  experience 
had  already  proved  to  be  identified  with  negro 
apprenticeship?  The  Americans  endeavored  to 
bamboozle  us  by  saying  that  they  got  negro 
slavery  from  Britain  ;  but  he  would  ask  them,  did 
they  hesitate  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Britain 
when  they  found  themselves  likely  to  be  subjected 
to  a  tax  on  their  tea,  and  why  not  as  well  throw 
from  them  the  disgrace  of  slavery?  For  his  part, 
when  he  found  a  parchment  law  go  contrary  to  the 
law  of  God,  he  would  feel  it  to  be  his  duty  to  tear 
it  in  pieces.  At  that  day  when  the  world  would 
be  in  flames,  and  when  the  parchment  itself 
14* 


162  MEETING   AT 

would  be  crackling,  the  soul  would  stand  naked 
before  the  throne  of  the  Judge  to  answer  for  the 
deeds  done  in  the  body.  There  was  a  talk  of 
property  in  the  slave.  He  would  ask  to  whom 
belonged  the  800,000  negroes  in  the  West  Indies? 
Did  they  not  belong  to  the  people  of  Britain, 
who  had  paid  for  them  no  less  a  sum  than  £20, 
000,000.  (Cheers.)  And  was  it  not  intolerable 
that  those  whose  freedom  had  been  thus  bought 
should  still  be  subjected  to  the  ignominy  of  the 
lash  and  the  cattle  chain  ?  (Cheers.)  There  had 
also  been  a  talk  of  being  in  advance  of  the  spirit 
of  the  age.  The  people  of  Britain,  he  was 
aware,  had  always  been  in  advance  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. (Cheers.)  When  £500,000,000  was  to 
be  borrowed,  in  order  to  carry  on  a  war  crusade 
against  France,  the  Government  was  sure  to  take 
the  lead  ;  but  in  a  moral  crusade  against  iniquity 
the  people  were  always  to  be  found  foremost. 
The  people  ought,  therefore,  to  depend  upon 
themselves.  They  should  not  look  even  only  to 
Lord  Melbourne.  His  Lordship  might  do  much 
better  than  he  had  done,  though  he  admitted  that 
he  had  done  wonderfully  well.  (Cheers.)  There 
was  another  to  whom  they  would  naturally  look 
as  a  leader — the  great  O — who  had  done  more 
than  any  other  man  to  advance  the  cause  of  hu- 
man freedom.  He  could  easily  picture  to  him- 
self that  great  O  when  a  boy  running  about  Der- 
rynane  Abbey,  and  conversing  with  the  dairy- 
maid while  she  was  working  at  the  churn.  She 
would  doubtless  explain  to  him  the  nature  of  the 
operation  in  which  she  was  engaged — that  with- 
out agitation  she  could  not  expect  to  produce  but- 
ter, and  he  would  thus  be  instructed  in  the  art 
which  he  had  since  turned  to  so  excellent  an  ac- 
count.    He  (Dr.  R.)  would   urge  upon  the  meet- 


GLASGOW.  1G3 

ing  to  use  the  same  means.  He  would  call  upon 
them  to  agitate  in  their  respective  circles  in  be- 
half of  the  negroes.  He  would  address  himself 
particularly  to  students,  some  of  whom  he  saw 
present,  and  bid  them  raise  the  muirhurn  of  Anti- 
Slavery  agitation  throughout  the  country. 

Mr.  J.  M'Cune  Smith,  (colored,)  of  New-York, 
seconded  the  motion.  The  apprenticeship,  he 
said,  was  wrong  in  principle,  ruinous  in  practice, 
and  dangerous  as  a  precedent.  It  had  been  said 
that  immediate  emancipation  was  likely  to  be 
productive  of  the  most  pernicious  results;  but  in 
refutation  of  this  it  Avas  only  necessary  to  turn  to 
St.  Domingo,to  Columbia,  and  to  Antigua,  to  prove 
the  reverse.  The  apprenticeship  was  ruinous 
in  practice,  in  as  much  as  from  the  colonial  gov- 
ernment, composed  as  they  were  wholly  of  slave- 
owners, no  measure  could  be  expected  or  calcu- 
lated to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  negro.  But 
the  dangerous  precedent  afforded  by  the  appren- 
ticeship was  particularly  to  be  regarded.  The 
people  of  Britain  had  nobly  led  the  way  in  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  and  other  nations  might  be 
willing  to  follow  the  example  ;  but  they  might 
be  tempted  by  our  adoption  of  the  seven  years' 
apprenticeship,  to  fold  their  arms  and  say,  we  shall 
wait  to  see  what  is  the  result  of  this  experiment. 
Mr.  S.  then  inculcated  the  propriety  of  calling 
for  immediate  emancipation.  Let  not,  he  said, 
the  British  Statute  Book  be  stained  with  the  as- 
sumption that  man  in  any  state  is  not  fit  for  free- 
dom. The  horrors  of  the  apprenticeship  ore 
more  galling  to  the  negro,  than  absolute  slavery, 
as  they  are  inflicted  on  them  by  the  British  peo- 
ple ;  and  they  are  still  further  aggravated  by  the 
sound  of  the  anthems   heard  from  the  neighbour- 


164  MEETING  AT 

ing  shores  of  Antigua, -where  the  slave  has  been 
completely  released  from  his  bonds. 

Mr.  Geo.  Thompson  rose  amidst  universal 
cheering  to  move  the  next  resolution.  He  said 
as  there  were  yet  several  other  resolutions  to  be 
moved,  he  would  not  take  up  a  large  portion  of 
their  time  in  reccommending  one  which  recom- 
mended itself.  A  more  potent  instrumentality 
could  not  be  employed  in  favor  of  the  abolition 
cause  in  America,  than  the  communication  of  a 
public  declaration  of  the  sentiments  of  the  Chris- 
tian people  of  this  country.  They  were  there  on 
a  firm  footing;  they  were  there  on  solid  ground. 
They  might  assemble  and  express  their  opinions 
of  what  was  cruel  and  unjust,  they  might,  they 
ought,  as  christians  to  interfere  with  the  brethren 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic — to  tell  them 
Arhat  were  their  opinions.  This  was  their  only 
interference;  this  was  the  height  of  their  inter- 
ference. They  had  sent  their  living  agent,  who, 
through  the  breadth  of  the  land,  had  declared  their 
sentiments,  and  now  that  he  had  returned  they 
were  adopting  the  next  most  powerful  instrumen- 
tality to  forward  the  cause,  by  sending  abroad 
their  written  remonstrances  on  the  result  and 
demoralizing  tendency  of  slavery.  (Cheers.) 
Americans  there  were  who  might  affect  to  sneer 
at  the  remonstrance  of  Britain  aria  Ireland,  but 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  would  feel 
strongly  on  the  subject,  and  many  of  them  with  a 
proper  feeling.  Were  there  no  other  means  than 
by  writing?  The  newspapers  went  there.  The 
360  Abolition  Societies  would  find  out  a  way  to 
make  them  circulate.  Give  then,  (continued  Mr. 
T.)  publicity  to  every  syllable  that  you  pen,  to 
every  word    that  you  utter.     Put   your  prayers, 


GLASGOW.  1G5 

your  wishes,  your  reasonings,  into  print ;  give 
tllem  'line  upon  line,  precept  upon  precept,'  and 
so  will  you  awaken  the  best  portion  of  the 
American  community,  (approbation.)  He  had 
now  to  advert  to  the  clergy  in  America.  Ue  was 
happy  to  state  that  there  were  from  twelve  to  fif- 
teen hundred  pledged  to  the  cause,  notwithstand- 
ing he  had  said  so  much  on  former  occasions  res- 
pecting the  corruption  of  the  church.  It  was  true, 
that  among  the  professors  of  religion  in  America, 
who  were  opposed  to  them,  were  the  Ministers 
of  religion.  Among  the  Presbyterians  in  Vir- 
ginia, a  great  number  of  the  ministers  were 
not  only  slaveholders,  but  planters,  and  divided 
their  duties  between  attending  to  the  holy  office 
of  the  ministry,  and  planting  rice,  cotton,  and  su- 
gar. The  highest  dignities  of  the  Methodist 
Connection,  and  the  chief  office  bearers  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  were  connected  with  the  slave 
trade.  In  South  Carolina,  the  ministers  upheld 
the  determined,  inveterate,  unmitigated  slavery 
of  the  South.  The  clergy  preached  what  they 
called  Christianity,  which  sanctioned  slavery. 
But  the  church  was  rising,  and  without  even  the 
aid  of  a  State  connection,  would  continue  to  rise, 
and  the  church  would  yet  be  the  redemption  of 
America.  Public  feeling  would  keep  time  with 
the  voice  of  the  sanctuary,  and  they  would  ac~ 
company  each  other  in  a  final  triumph.  The 
question  of  slavery  was  to  the  present  moment, 
exclusively  religious,  and  so  it  would  continue; 
but  the  politician  would  come  in,  and  in  his  own 
place  be  an  effective  agent.  In  order  to  give  a 
better  idea  of  the  progress  of  the  cause  in  Amer- 
ica, as  he  had  said  enough  in  support  of  the  res- 
olution, he  would  direct  their  attention  to  a  dis- 
play which  was  made  in  the  State  of  New  York, 


166  MEETING  AT 

nt  a  time  when  there  was  nothing  but  slaughter 
breathed  out  against  the  abolitionists.  The  ef- 
forts of  the  abolitionists  were  not  however  paral- 
ised.  A  convention  was  held  and  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  threaten! ngs,  there  were  now  350  socie- 
ties in  the  United  {States.  The  deputations  to 
the  Ministry  and  their  myrmidon  at  Downing 
Street,  had  been  adverted  to;  that  circumstance 
occurred  at  the  moment  of  highest  excitement  in 
favor  of  the  question.  Never  was  there  such  a 
parade  of  those  gentlemen  called  black  coats, 
seen  going  up  Downing  Street,  and  seldom  was 
Lord  Stanley  in  such  juxta  position.  The  excite- 
ment in  New  York  was,  however,  of  another  kind. 
It  was  said  if  the  meeting  were  held,  it  would  be 
equal  to  a  declaration  of  war,  an  attemnt  to  bring 
about  the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  One  thous- 
and of  the  cream  of  the  State  of  New  York  at- 
tended, however,  and  among  them  were  100  min- 
isters of  the  gospel.  Britain  waited  to  second 
these  efforts.  Let  the  friends  of  liberty  in  Brit- 
ain endorse  these  proceedings.  Let  their  remon- 
strances against  slavery  come  from  all  quarters, 
and  wind  their  way  through  the  United  States  of 
America,  which  one  after  another  would  join  in 
ihe  cause. 

One  word,  continued  Mr.  T.,  with  regard  to 
prejudice  against  color.  If  there  was  one  thing 
more  than  another  he  delighted  to  hear,  it  was 
the  address  of  a  stranger  who  came  among  them, 
a  brother  who  differed  from  them  only  in  the  col- 
or of  his  skin,  listened  to  with  attention  and  ad- 
miration by  an  audience  like  the  present.  Not  so 
was  it  in  America.  To  show  the  state  of  feeling 
on  the  part  of  the  whites  towards  the  blacks,  be 
would  narrate  an  anecdote  which  he  had  learned 
after  a  lecture  in   Edinburgh,  regarding  this  pre- 


GLASGOW,  ]()7 

judico  against  color.  A  lady  who  had  butn  con- 
versing with  an  acquaintance  of  her  own,  a  Vir- 
ginia-ised  Frenchman,  now  in  Edinburgh,  hap- 
pened to  ask  him  if  he  knew  Mr.  Thompson. — 
4  Oh'  said  the  Frenchman,  'that  man  Thompson 
— he  be  all  humbug,  humbug,  humbug,'  and  in  or- 
der to  convince  the  lady  he  recited  an  anecdote 
of  a  Frenchman,  who  courted  a  lady  the  fifth  re- 
move by  birth  from  a  black  family.  The  French- 
man said  she  was  'a  beautiful,  very  beautiful  la- 
dy,' but  at  a  dinner  party  it  being  whispered  that 
the  beautiful  lady  was  connected  by  birth  with  a 
black  family,  the  company  left  the  room,  all  but 
the  French  gentleman  and  the  fine  lady,  and  they 
were  obliged  to  take  dinner  in  a  private  apart- 
ment. The  fine  lady  cried  and  wept,  but  the 
company  went  b;ick  to  dinner  again,  after  siic 
bad  left  the  room.  If  I  had  not  gone  out  ton,  con- 
tinued the  Frenchman,  I  would  have  lost  all  cred- 
it and  respectability  in  society.  Mr.  Thompson 
then  wont  on  to  mention  the  circumstance  of  a 
partition  having  been  erected  in  Dr.  Spraguc's 
church  in  Albany,  separating  the  blacks,  many  of 
whom  had  been  members  of  the  church  for  a  long 
time  under  the  ministration  of  Dr.  Sprague's  pre- 
decessor, from  the  whites  of  the  same  congrega- 
tion, lie  also  stated  that  the  whites  were  not 
satisfied  till  a  green  curtain  was  put.  up  to  hide 
the  negroes'  faces,  but  that  th^ro  was  now  not  a 
colored  man  in  the  church.  The  learned  lectur- 
er said  there  was  reason  to  guard  against  the  evil, 
which  professedly  (food  men  did.  Where  could 
a  man  look  for  equality  of  rights  if  it  was  not  in 
the  church?  If  a  practice  like  this  was  not  ex- 
posed, how  ronld  they  justify  the  anathemas  which 
they  hurled  against  the  system?  Mr.  T.  next 
alluded  to  the  anomaly  of  the  American  coRstit'W- 


1 68  MEETING    AT 

lion,  holding  equality  of  rights,  freedom  of  con- 
science, and  freedom  of  speech,  and  the  Govern- 
or of  Alabama  sending  to  the  Governor  of  New- 
York  for  the  delivery  of  a  Mr.  Williams,  who  was 
indicted  for  publishing  in  his  newspaper  a  sen- 
tence to  the  effect  that  'God  commands,  and  na- 
ture cries  aloud,  against  the  sin  of  man  holding 
property  in  man.'  An  advertisement,  continued 
Mr.  Thompson,  appeared  in  an  American  paper 
in  Charleston,  offering  a  reward  of  fifty  dollars, 
to  any  person  who  would  bring  to  '  Liberty  Hall  ' 
the  servant  of  the  proprietor,  named  Bill,  who 
would  be  known  by  the  marks  of  the  whip  on  his 
back,  and  who  having  eloped  without  provocation, 
was  said  to  be  on  the  road  to  his  wife  and  five 
children,  sold  to  a  neighboring  planter,  by  the 
master  of  'Liberty  Hall.' — (Laughter.)  Another 
anecdote  was  told  by  Mr.  Thompson,  of  a  Mr. 
Wallace,  who  married  in  the  South  a  lady  who 
was  governess  in  an  institution.  Sometime  after 
the  marriage,  a  person  called  on  Mr.  Wallace, 
and  demanded  his  wife  or  1,000  dollars,  as  she 
was  his  slave.  The  husband  was  indignant,  lie 
turned  the  individual  out  of  doors,  and  communi- 
cated the  circumstance  to  his  wife,  who,  after 
hearing  a  description  of  the  visitor,  told  her  hus- 
band, that  she  was  not  only  his  slave  but  that  he 
was  her  father.  (Shame.)  As  a  farther  proof  of 
the  evils  of  slavery,  Mr.  Thompson  stated  as  a 
fact,  that  a  father  in  Kentucky,  where  gambling 
is  carried  on  to  a  great  extent,  had  actually  given, 
after  he  had  lost  all  his  money,  his  three  children 
as  a  stake  for  the  last  game.  He  lost  the  game  ; 
the  planter  went  to  the  mother  demanding  the 
bet,  but  she,  after  hearing  an  explanation  of  the 
matter  from  her  husband,  went  into  another  apart- 
ment, and  she  and  her  three  children  were  found 


GLASGOW.  169 

there  with  their  throats  cut.  (Oh,  and  shame.) — 
Mr.  T.  said,  be  had  sat  in  stage-coaches,  and  lis- 
tened to  the  recital  of  atrocities  committed  on  the 
blacks,  which  were  made  a  matter  of  jest  to  the 
whites.  He  had  heard  his  own  name  branded 
with  foul-mouthed  malignity,  when  those  who 
spoke  of  him  did  not  know  that  he  was  present. 
He  concluded  by  commenting  upon  the  appren- 
ticeship system,  and  by  denouncing  the  stipendi- 
ary magistrates  as  leagued  with  the  planters  in 
the  oppression  of  the  negroes. 

The   Rev.   Mr.  Thompson,  of  the  Methodist 

connexion,  seconded  the  resolution.  He  said, 
the  most  humbling  consideration  they  had  had 
before  them  that  evening  was  that  the  professors 
and  the  ministers  of  religion  were  the  main  props 
of  slavery  in  America.  The  immortal  Locke  had 
said  that  what  was  morally  wrong  could  not  be 
politically  right;  and  he  would  sny  that  what  was 
morally  wrong  could  not  be  ecclesiastically  right. 
Whether,  therefore,  the  system  was  supported 
by  Baptists,  Presbyterians,  or  Methodists,  it  should 
ever  meet  with  his  unqualified  reprobation. 
The  motion  was  carried  unanimously. 

The  Rev.  D.  Hf.ugh  rose  to  propose  four  reso- 
lutions of  which  he  would  shortly  state  the  sub- 
stance. The  first  contained  a  pledge  that  the 
Glasgow  Emancipation  Society  would  not  give 
over  iheir  humble  efforts,  till  freedom,  the  birth- 
right of  the  species,  was  universal,  and  slavery 
wa3  banished  from  the  whole  caith.  The  2d  con- 
tained an  expression  of  their  approbation,  and,  not 
only  of  their  approbation,  but  of  their  admiration, 
of  their  honest,  and  talented  missionary,  Mr.  Geo. 
Thompson.  The  3d  was  that  they  would  do  all 
13 


I/O  MEETING    AT 

in  their  power  to  influence  public  opinion  in  Amer* 
ica  on  the  subject.  America  presented  the  most 
monstrous  anomaly  in  jurisprudence  and  in  mor- 
als to  be  witnessed  on  the  earth,  and  they  would 
be  wanting  in  their  duty  were  they  not  to  send 
remonstrance  after  remonstrance,  till  not  a  sing?e 
manacled  human  being-  was  to  be  found  on  the 
American  territory.  The  people  of  Britain  were 
as  responsible  for  the  proper  exercise  of  the  in- 
fluence they  possessed,  as  for  the  money  they  had 
at  their  command  ;  and  they  could  not  answer 
satisfactorily  to  their  consciences,  to  the  negro, 
to  their  American  brethren,  nor  to  God,  were 
they  to  retrain  from  putting  that  influence  forth 
for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  The  4th  resolution 
which  he  had  to  propose  was  one  calling  on  their 
friend,  Mr.  Thompson,  to  vociferate  ie  the  ears  of 
British  christians  the  duty  of  making  a  long  pull, 
a  strong  pull,  and  a  pull  altogether,  till  the  ac- 
cursed system  of  slavery  was  altogether  abolished. 

Rev.  1).  Kljfw  seconded  the  resolutions  with- 
out remark,  and  they  wore  carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  G.  Tuo.Mrso.v  acknowledged  the  kind  man- 
ner in  which  he  had  been  alluded  to  in  the  reso- 
lutions just  read.  lie  felt  himself  unable,  he  said, 
to  acknowledge  their  kindness  as  he  ought.  When 
contradicted  he  could  occasionally  reply,  but 
win  n  commended  he  could  say  nothing.  lie  then 
read  a  list  of  names,  which  he  would  propose  as 
the  committee  for  the  next  year;  and  took  occa- 
sion, on  mentioning  the  Rev.  Mr.  Paul,  of  Wil- 
berforcq  Settlement,  Upper  Canada,  as  an  Hon- 
orary member  of  the  Committee,  to  oulogisr  that 
gentleman's  Christian  spirit,  in  enthusiastic  terms. 

The  Committee  was  appointed  amid  acclama- 
tion. 


GLASGOW.  171 

The  Rev.  Dr.  KrosfoN  rose  to  move  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  Ladies'  Auxiliary  Society.  In  eve- 
ry good  work,  the  Ladies  had  been  found  ready 
to  take  the  lead,  and  in  this  case  their  Society 
had  been  greatly  assisted  by  the  energetic  efforts 
of  the  Ladies'  Auxiliary. 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  Mr.  M'Laren,  and 
carried  amid  great  applause. 

Thanks  were  then  voted  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hough 
and  the  managers  of  the  Chapel,  and  to  the  Rev. 
Dr.  VVardlaw  for  his  conduct  in  the  Chair;  after 
whleh  the  meeting  broke  up,  about  1-9 past  11. 


GLASGOW    EMANCIPATION    SOCIETV. 

Glasgow,  1st  March,  18^36. 

This  Evening,  at  7  o'clock,  agreeably  to  adver- 
tisement, the  Second  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
Glasgow  Emancipation  Society  was  held  in  Dr. 
Hough's  Chapel. 

Fn  the  absence  of  the  venerable  President  of 
the  Society,  Robert  Grahame,  Esq.  of  Whitehill, 
Dr.  VVardlaw,  one  of  the  Vice  President?,  was, 
on  the  motion  of  James  Beith,  Esq.  called  to  the 
Chair.  The  Chairman,  after  introducing  the  busi- 
ness, called  upon  Mr.  William  Smeal,  Jr.,  one  of 
the  Secretaries,  to  read  an  abridgement  of  the 
Annual  Report.     It  was  then 

Moved  by  George  Thompson,  Esq.  and  second- 
ed by  the  Rev.  Robert  Thompson,  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Minister: — 

1  That  this  meeting,  in  the  conviction  that  the 
only  means  that  can  now  be  employed,  by  tho 
friends  of  emancipation  in  this  country,  for  pro- 
moting the  abolition  of  Slavery   in   the    United 


172  MEETING   AT 

States  of  America,  is  by  the  Christian  public  re- 
monstrating with  their  Christian  brethren  in 
America,  on  their  sin  and  guilt  in  the  sight  of  God, 
as  well  as  scandal  to  their  profession  as  Christians, 
in  keeping  their  colored  fellow  men  in  bondage — 
therefore 

Resolved,  That  an  address  to  the  friends  of 
slave  emancipation,  and  to  ministers  of  religion, 
especially,  on  the  importance  and  duty  of  so  re- 
monstrating, be  drawn  up  by  the  Committee  of 
this  Society,  and  printed  and  circulated  as  speed- 
ily as  possible.' 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Heugh,  and  seconded 
by  the  Rev.  David  King,  both  of  the  United  Se- 
cession Church: — 

'  1.  That  this  Society,  convinced  of  the  many 
and  enormous  evils  connected  with  Slavery,  af- 
fecting the  temporal  and  spiritual  interests,  both 
of  the  enslaved,  and  of  those  who  hold  them  in 
bondage,  and  the  essential  contrariety  of  the  sys- 
tem to  the  dictates  of  benevolence  and  justice,  as 
■well  as  to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ,  renew  their  pledge  to  persevere  in 
their  exertions,  in  union  with  kindred  Societies  iu 
Britain  and  in  other  lands,  with  a  view  to  effect 
the  abolition  of  Slavery  and  the  Slave  Trade, 
universally  and  forever. 

2.  That  the  Society,  in  compliance  with  the 
invitation  of  many  philanthropists  in  America,  and 
in  connection  with  other  Societies  in  this  country, 
having  deputed  Mr.  George  Thompson  as  their 
Agent  to  the  United  States,  to  co-operate  with 
the  friends  of  the  Abolition  of  Slavery  there,  in 
their  efforts  to  awaken  their  countrymen  to  a  sense 
of  their  duty  towards  more  than  two  millions  of 
their  brethren  held  by  them  in  cruel  bondage,  ex- 
press their  cordial  approval,  and  high  admiration 


GLASGOW.  173 

of  the  power,  intrepidity,  and  devotion,  with 
which,  in  the  face  of  formidable  opposition,  un- 
sparing abuse,  and  great  personal  hazards,  Mr. 
Thompson  was  enabled,  by  the  grace  of  God  to 
pursue,  and  in  a  good  measure  to  accommplish 
the  great  object  of  his  very  arduous  mission. 

3.  That  this  Society  express  the  delight  with 
which  they  have  contemplated  the  zeal,  self-de- 
nial, energy,  and  liberality  which  so  many  indi- 
viduals and  Societies,  male  and  female,  in  Amer- 
ica, have  displayed  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of 
Slavery — cordially  congratulate  these  American 
brethren  on  the  auspicious  prospects  of  success 
which  a  gracious  Providence  is  now  opening, 
tending  to  cheer  and  revive  their  exertions — and 
pledge  themselves  to  employ  the  best  means  in 
their  power  to  encourage  these  devoted  friends  in 
their  great  and  hopeful  struggle  in  this  cause  of 
enlightened  humanity. 

4.  That,  aware  of  the  favorable  effects  which, 
under  the  blessing  of  God,  may  be  produced  in 
America,  by  the  transmission,  faithfully  and  affec- 
tionately, of  the  sentiments  entertained  by  Chris- 
tians in  this  country,  respecting  the  evils  of  Amer- 
ican Slavery,  and  that  prejudice  against  color  by 
which  Slavery  is  so  greatly  strengthened  there  ; 
and  knowing  the  eminent  fitness  of  Mr.  Thomp- 
son, from  his  knowledge,  experience,  and  proved 
ability  and  zeal,  to  rouse  British  Christians  to  the 
discharge  of  this  duty  which  they  owe  to  their 
American  brethren,  this  Society  agree  to  request 
a  continuance  of  Mr.  Thompson's  invaluable  la- 
bors, by  visiting  the  chief  towns  of  Britain  and 
Ireland,  and  delivering  addresses  on  those  topics, 
of  such  momentous  interest  to  both  countries.' 

George  Thompson,  Esq.  having  spoken  in  re- 
ply, proposed,  and  it  was  carried  by  acclamation  : 
15* 


174  MEETING  AT 

That  the  following  gentlemen  be  the  Office 
Bearers,  and  Committee  of  Management,  for  next 
year : — 

PRESIDENT. 

Robert  Grahame,  Esq.,  of  WhitehiH. 

VICE  PRESIDENTS. 

Rev.  Dr.  Wardlaw, 
Dr.  Heugh, 
Dr.  Kidston, 
Anthony  Wigham,  Esq.,  Aberdeen. 

TREASURER. 

James  Beith,  Esq. 

SECRETARIES. 

Messrs.  John  Murray,  and  William  Smeal,  Jr. 

COMMITTEE. 

Rev.  Wm.  Anderson,      Messsrs.Thos.  Grahame, 

Win.  Auld,  James  Johnston, 

Wm.  Brash,  Robert  Kettle, 

Patrick  Brewster,  Henry  Langlands, 

Paisley,  Patrick  Lethem, 

John  Duncan,  Colin  Macdougall, 

John  Edwards,  Donald  Macintyre, 

Greville  Ewing,  Jno.  Maxwell,  M.  D. 

Alex.  Harvey,  Ninian  M'Gilp, 

David  King,  Anthony  M'Keand, 

William  Lindsay,  David  M'Laren, 

James  M'Tear,  *  John  M'Leod, 

James  Patterson,  John   M'Leod,    Ar- 
Thomas  Pullar,  gyle  Street, 

Robt.  Thompson,  Wm.  P.  Paton, 

Michael  Willis,  John  Reid, 

Messrs.  D.  Anderson,  Robt.  Sanderson, 

Hugh  Brown,  Jr.  J.  M'Cune  Smith, 


GLASGOW.  175 

Wm.  Brown,  David  Smith, 

Robt.  Connel,  James  Stewart, 

Win.  Craig,  Patrick  Thompson, 

G.  C.  Dick,  George  Thorburn, 

Wm.  Ferguson,  Archd.  Watson, 

•John  Fleming,  George  Watson, 

Archd.  Fullerton,  James  Watson, 

George  Gallie,  Andrew  Young. 

HONORARY  AND  CORRESPONDING  MEMBERS. 

George  Thompson,  Esq. 
Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison,  Boston,  N.  E. 
Arthur  Tappan,  Esq.,  New  York, 
M.  George  Washington  Lafayette,  ?  p    • 
M.  Victor  de  Tracey,  $  raris' 

Rev.  Thomas  Roberts,  Bristol, 
Daniel  O'Connell,  Esq.  M.  P. 
Joseph  Sturge,  Esq.,  Birmingham, 
Rev.  Nathaniel  Paul,  Wilberforce  Settlement, 
Upper  Canada. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kidston,  and  seconded 
by  David  M'Laren,  Esq.: — 

'  That  the  cordial  thanks  of  this  meeting  are 
due  to  the  Committee  of  the  'Ladies  Auxiliary  ' 
to  the  Glasgow  Emancipation  Society,  for  their  un- 
remitted and  zealous  exertions  in  aid  of  its  funds.' 

Moved  by  Patrick  Lethem,  Esq.,  and  carried 
by  acclamation : 

'That  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  be  given  to 
Dr.  Heugh  and  the  Managers,  for  the  use  of  their 
Chapel.' 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  James  M'Tear,  and  carried 
also  by  acclamation: 

'That  the  thanks  of  this  meeting  be  given  to 
Dr.  Wardlaw,  for  his  conduct  in  the  Chair.' 

RALPH  WARDLAW,  Chairman. 


MEETLNG  AT  LONDON. 

[From  the  London  Patriot  of  June  1,  1836.] 

On  Thursday  evening  last,  a  very  numerous 
auditory  assembled  at  the  Rev.  T.  Price's  Chapel, 
Devonshire  Square,  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  a 
lecture,  to  be  delivered  by  George  Thompson, 
Esq.,  illustrative  of  the  character  of  American 
slavery,  and  the  principles  and  progress  of  the 
American  Anti-Slavery  Society.  An  intense  de- 
gree of  interest  was  excited ;  it  being  under- 
stood that  the  lecturer  would  justify  the  course 
pursued  by  him  towards  the  Baptist  deputation. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Edward  Baldwin,  sec- 
onded by  Mr.  Scoble,  William  Knight,  Esq., 
was  called  to  the  chair. 

The  Chairman,  in  opening  the  proceedings, 
said,  that  five  minutes  ago  he  had  not  the  least 
idea  of  occupying  the  situation  to  which  he  had 
been  called.  He  felt  himself  almost  incapable 
of  introducing  the  business  of  the  meeting,  but 
he  would  read  the  advertisement  by  which  it  was 
convened.  The  worthy  Chairman  then  read  the 
advertisement  contained  in  the  Patriot  of  the 
25th  ult.,  and  said,  that  in  reference  to  the  latter 


MEETING  AT  LONDON.  177 

part  [an  invitation  to  Drs.  Cox  and  Iloby  to  at- 
tend the  meeting]  he  had  not  the  pleasure  of 
knowing  these  gentlemen,  but  if  they  should  pro- 
sent  themselves  to  the  meeting,  he  was  sure  that 
a  British  audience  would  treat  them  with  the 
greatest  respect.  He  happened  to  know  a  little 
of  the  state  of  the  slavery  question  in  America 
himself,  having  been  almost  nursed  in  the  anti- 
slavery  cradle;  for  Thomas  Clarkson,  Esq.,  had 
been  his  intimate  friend  from  his  boyhood.  A 
short  time  ago  he  received  a  communication  from 
a  friend  in  America,  giving  some  horrid  details  of 
the  present  state  of  slavery  there.  It  was  a  most 
lamentable  fact,  that  a  nation,  professing  the 
most  unbounded  sentiments  of  liberality,  should 
tolerate  a  system  of  slavery  so  horrid.  In  the 
letter  to  which  he  alluded  it  was  stated,  that  un- 
der the  simple  apprehension  of  danger  from  the 
insurrection  of  the  slaves,  they  had,  without  any 
trial  or  examination,  been  executed  by  tens, 
twenties,  and  even  thirties.  (Hear,  hear.)  If 
such  a  system  as  that  was  not  a  disgrace  to  any 
nation  professing  itself  civilized,  and  in  the  least 
decrree  regulated  by  the  Jaws  of  justice  and 
righteousness,  he  knew  not  what  was.  He  would 
now  call  on  Mr.  Thompson  to  commence  his  lec 
ture. 

Mr.  Thomspox  waa  about  to  rise, — when 

Ma.  Pkwtress  stood  up,  and  begged  to  offer 
a  suggestion.  He  had  come  there  in  conse- 
quence of  the  public  notice,  and  he  would  most 
respectfully  suggest,  whether  it  was  necessary 
in  the  information  to  be  communicated  that  even- 
ing, to  introduce  the  names  of  Drs.  Cox  or 
Hobv,  or  their  delegation  to  the  United  States  of 


178  MEETING   AT 

America.  Those  gentlemen  did  not  go  out  from 
the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  and  for  one,  he  must 
protest  against  any  allusion  being  made  to  them. 
(Applause.) 

The  Chairman  stated,  that  he  saw  a  state- 
ment in  the  Patriot  about  a  fortnight  ago,  signed 
by  those  two  gentlemen,  in  which  the  character 
of  Mr.  Thompson  was  seriously  reflected  upon 
— (hear,  hear) ;  and  he  thought,  that  common 
justice  at  least,  required  that  lie  (Mr.  T.)  should 
have  an  opportunity  of  remarking  upon  it.  (Hear, 
hear,  and  applause.) 

Mr.  Thompson  then  rose,  and  was  received 
with  slight  marks  or  disapprobation,  which  were  in- 
stantly drowned  in  loud  bursts  of  applause.  lie 
begged  that  no  interruption  might  be  afforded  to 
those  who  wished,  on  the  present  occasion,  to 
give  utterance  to  any  sounds  of  disapprobation 
relative  to  himself  personally,  or  to  any  remarks 
which  it  might  be  his  privilege  and  his  duty  to 
address  to  that  assembly.  He  should  not  be 
shaken  from  syiy  purpose  which  he  had  formed 
by  any  thing  which  could  take  place  within  or 
without  those  walls.  He  stood  there  to  accom- 
plish no  party  purposes,  to  gratify  no  pri- 
vate feelings,  to  make  no  attack  upon  private 
character.  He  stood  there  as  the  undaunted  ad- 
vocate ot  suffering  and  enslaved  humanity  all 
over  the  world.  (Cheers.)  lie  held  a  book  in 
his  hand  [The  Baptists  in  America,]  which  was 
full  of  insinuations  in  reference  to  his  general 
policy,  and  to  certain  particular  acts,  and  no  gen- 
tleman had  a  right  to  find  fault  with  him  for  intro- 
ducing any  names  he  might  find  in  that  book. 
(Hear,  hear,)  That  book  was  public  property; 
he  would  take  it  littra  gcprita  manel,  and  with  it 


LONDON.  179 

he  would  have  to  do  till  lie  had  rescued  himself 
from  every  insinuation,  direct  or  indirect, — every 
charge,  expressed  or  implied,  contained  within 
the  ^ages  of  that  volume.  (Cheers.)  He  had 
not  come  there  without  giving  full  and  respect- 
ful notice  to  his  respected  friends — for  so  he 
would  call  them.  If  he  rebuked  them  it  was  in 
friendship,  and  he  would  do  it  with  affection  also. 
He  would  now  come  to  the  question  immediately 
before  them,  but  he  desired  it  might  be  under- 
stood that  he  had  no  wish  to  traduce  America. 
Those  who  hated  the  greatness  of  America  would 
never  point  out  that  which  was  the  mildew,  the 
canker-worm,  the  all-absorbing*,  all-operating 
cause  of  loss  of  character,  loss  of  strength,  and 
loss  of  glory  in  the  eyes  of  all  who  were  ac- 
quainted with  her  history,  and  her  professions. 
He  was  the  man  who  loved  America,  who  mourn- 
ed over  that  one  giant  abomination  that  stained 
and  defiled  that  land, — who,  going  there,  did  not 
disguise  the  truth— (Cheers)— did  not  confine  to 
private  circles  those  rebukes  which  should  be 
given  on  the  house-top.  Such  were  the  feelings 
which  animated  him  when  he  went  to  America. 
He  went  not  there  for  fame  or  wealth.  He  left 
those  shores  far  poorer  than  he  went,  having  sac- 
rificed all  that  he  had  to  the  great  object  of  ad- 
vancing -the  car  of  freedom,  then  rolling  with 
such  slow  and  most  sorrowful  paces  in  that  land 
of  liberty— that  its  triumphant  wheel  might  grind 
to  powder  the  usurping  institutions  of  despotism, 
and  leave  that  land  without  a  tyrant,  and  without 
a  slave.  (Loud  cheers.)  And  what  was  his  re- 
ward after  14  month*  of  toil,  and  peril,  and  per- 
secution almost  unparalleled  ?  To  be  branded 
as  a  calumniator.  (Cries  of  '  Shame,  shame.') 
He  went  there  to  reuse  that  country.     He  want- 


130  MEETING  AT 

ed  it  to  be  known  by  every  man,  from  the  Presi- 
dent downwards,  that  not  George  Thompson, 
but  that  an  Englishman  representing  the  wishes, 
prayers,  and  religious  sentiments  of  England,  was 
there;  and  that  he  had  arrived  freighted  with 
blessings,  and  not  breathing  out  threatening  and 
slaughter, — that  he  had  come  a  messenger  of 
peace — that  he  had  come  to  grapple,  in  common 
with  all  the  sincere  friends  of  the  negro  there, 
with  the  direst  monster  that  ever  preyed  upon 
the  honor,  the  justice,  or  humanity  of  that  coun- 
try. (Cheers.)  What  did  he  find  there  ?  Two 
million  five  hundred  thousand  slaves — slaves  in 
the  fullest  sense  of  the  word!  (Hear,  hear.) 
He  found  every  sixth  man,  woman,  and  child  in 
America  an  abject  slave,  in  a  state  of  unmitigat- 
ed thraldom.  (Hear,  hear.)  He  would  not  give 
his  own  assertion  merely,  but  he  would  give  the 
words  of  the  Hon.  Wm.  Jay,  the  son  of  the  cele- 
brated John  Jay.  Mr.  Thompson  then  read  sev- 
eral extracts  from  '  Jay's  Inquiry,'  &c.  The  au- 
thor stated,  that  according  to  the  code  of  Louisiana, 
the  slave  could  not  acquire  any  thing  but  what 
must  bolong  to  his  master.  According  to  the 
laws  of  South  Carolina,  a  slave  was  adjudged  to 
be  a  chattel  personal  in  the  hands  of  his  master. 
At  pige  130,  Mr.  Jay  stated,  that,  according  to 
the  above  definitions  of  a  slave,  '  The  master  has, 
in  point  of  fact,  the  same  power  over  his  slave 
that  he  has  over  his  horse.'  The  slave  is  at  all 
times  liable  to  be  punished  at  the  pleasure  of  his 
master,  and,  although  the  law  does  not  warrant 
him  in  murdering  the  slave,  it  expressly  justifies 
him  in  killing  him  if  he  dare  to  resist.  At  page 
132,  Mr.  Jay  remarks,  that  *A  necessary  conse- 
quence of  slavery  is  the  absence  of  the  marriage 
relation.     A  slave   has  no  more   legal  authority 


LONDON.  181 

over  bid  child  than  a  cow  over  her  calf.'  Several 
laws  were  passed  inflicting  corporal  punishment 
on  slaves  meeting  for  mental  instruction,  and  im- 
posing fines  on  those  who  attempted  to  instruct 
them.  He  (Mr.  T.)  might  dwell  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  the  slave,  as  it  had  been  brought  out  by 
a  mass  of  evidence,  which,  with  great  care  lie 
had  collected  during  his  sojourn  in  the  United 
States,  but  he  would  only  mention  one  or  two  cir- 
cumstances. The  District  of  Columbia  was  ced- 
ed to  the  United  States  for  ever  by  the  States  of 
Maryland  and  Virginia.  It  consisted  of  a  terri- 
tory JO  miles  square,  in  which  stood  the  city  of 
Washington,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  the  cap- 
itol,  on  the  summit  of  which  was  the  flag-staff 
surmounted  by  the  cap  of  liberty,  and  under 
which  might  be  seen  the  banner,  with  the  all-in- 
spiring word  'Liberty'  upon  it.  The  meeting 
would  imagine,  and  justly  so,  that  if  in  the  Unit- 
ed States  of  America,  slaveholding  America, 
there  were  one  spot  where  freedom  reigned — 
consecrated  to  the  genius  of  Liberty,  where  man 
might  be  seen  delighting  in  the  blessings  which 
she  poured  from  her  cornucopia,  it  would  be  the 
District  of  Columbia,  where  assembled  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  freest  people  in  the  world, 
where  declamatory  harangues  were  everlast- 
ingly delivered  in  the  praise  of  liberty,  in  the 
fullest  and  highest  sense  of  the  word.  And  yet 
what  was  the  fact?  Let  it  be  known  ,  let  it  be 
told  throughout  the  world,  that  in  that  ten 
miles  square,  over  which  Congress  exercised  un- 
limited control,  was  the  slave  market  of  the  en- 
tire nation.  (Hear,  hear,  and  applause.)  It  had 
a  population  of  7,0C0  slaves,  and  the  slave-trad- 
ers, from  all  the  slave-rearing  States,  brought  the 
collies  into  Washington  itself,  and  into  Al<  xan- 
16  ' 


183  MEETING    AT 

dria,  and  there  the  very  members  of  Congress, 
while  speeches  were  being  made  within  the 
wails  of  the  capitol,  were  outside  the  doors  en- 
gaging with  the  vilest  race  of  men  on  the  face  of 
the  earth  for  the  sale  of  the  bones,  and  the  sin- 
ews, the  life,  and  the  blood,  the  liberty  and  fertil- 
ity of  God's  rational  and  immortal  creatures. 
(Immense  applause.)  And  yet  he  was  told,  that 
he  was  a  'calumniator,'  because  he  said  that 
America  was 'a  wicked  nation.'  (Cries  of 'Shame, 
shame,'  and  long  continued  cheers.)  What  would 
the  meeting  think,  when  he  told  them  that  Wash- 
ington city  itself  was  infested  by  kidnappers, 
prowling  about  to  arrest  men  of  color,  if  they  had 
not  their  fres  papers  with  them?  A  respectable 
colored  man  was  thrown  into  the  city  jail  of 
Washington  on  suspicion  of  being  a  slave.  He 
demonstrated  his  freedom — and  what  then?  Was 
the  man  who  captured  him  punished,  and  he  him- 
self set  free  ?  No  ;  He  was  sold  into  everlast- 
ing bondage  to  pay  his  jail  fees !  (Cries  of 
'Shame,  shame.)  He  (Mr.  T.)  stated  that  fact  on 
the  authority  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Miner,  and  a  peti- 
tion signed  by  1,000  most  respectable  inhabitants 
of  the  District,  and  yet  he  was  told,  that  he  was  'a 
caluminator,'  because  he  said  that  America  waa 
*  a  wicked  nation.'  (Deafening  applause.)  The 
Corporation  of  Washington,  by  virtue  of  an  Act 
passed  by  Congress,  granted  licenses  to  any  one 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  who  wished  to  trade 
in  slaves,  for  the  sum  of  ><400  per  annum.  IJo\r 
was  the  money  appropriated  ?  One  portion  for 
the  purpose  of  cutting  canals  f<>r  the  benefit  of 
white  citizens,  and  the  other  for  the  support  of 
schools  for  the  education  of  the  white  youth  of 
the  city  of  Washington.  (Loud  cries  of  Shame, 
ahame.')     And  yec  he  waa  toid  he  was  'a  caJum- 


LONDON.  183 

viator,1  because  he  said  that  America  was  'a 
wicked  nation.'  (Great  cheering.)  He  might 
stand  on  a  missionary  platform  and  pour  execra- 
tion upon  Hindooism,  he  might  deprecate  the 
scenes  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ganges,  he  might 
brand  the  acts  of  the  Brahmin,  the  New  Zealan- 
der,  and  the  wandering  Bushman,  as  infamy 
itself,  and  yet  if  ho  spoke  of  slave-trading 
America — America,  christianised,  and  republican' 
ised — and  sent  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  that 
declaration  to  the  first  nation  in  the  world,  he 
was  doing  wrong,  he  was  '  a  calumniator.' 
('Shame,  shame,'  and  applause.)  If  he  must  re- 
buke sin,  he  preferred  rebuking  it  in  a  white  man. 
(Cheers.)  If  he  must  rebuke  enormity,  if  he  re- 
buked a  slave-trader,  he  would  hunt  him  out  in 
a  Christian  country,  in  a  republican  country. 
(Cheers.)  He  would  not  brand  the  chiefs  of  Af- 
rica with  being  bloody  monsters,  when  he  could 
find  well-dressed  and  well-educated  men  of  a 
Christian  country,  embruing  their  hands  in  the 
blood  of  their  brethren.  (Cheers.)  He  knew 
the  secret — the  secret  was  out,  a  mans  at  at  an- 
other's table,  he  put  his  feet  under  that  table, 
shared  its  hospitalities,  and  came1  home  to  brand 
as  'a  calumniator'  the  man  who  told  that  host  he 
was  a  sinner.  (Long  continued  cheers,  with  some 
faint  signs  of  disapprobation,  which  were  instant- 
ly lost  in  renewed  cheering.)  He  hoped  that  the 
friends  present  would  find  a  better  way  of  argu- 
ing than  they  had  done  that  night.  (Cheers  and 
laughter.)  He  took  the  guilt  of  this  system,  and 
he  laid  it — where  ?  On  the  church  of  America. 
When  he  said  the  church,  he  did  not  allude  to 
any  particular  denomination.  He  spoke  of  Bap- 
tists, Presbyterians,  and  Methodists — the  three 
great  props,  the  all-sustaining  pillars  of  that  blood- 


1S4  MEETING  AT 


down  to  the  lowest  members  of  the  congrega- 
tions belonging  to  those  denominations,  thry 
were  slave-owners.  (Hear,  hear,  hear.)  He 
would  relate  one  anecdote  illustrative  of  the  sub- 
ject. When  Drs.  Cox  and  Iloby  were  in  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  they  lodged  at  the  house  of  a 
wealthy  planter,  and  were  in  the  daily  habit  of 
visiting  another  gentleman  in  similar  circumstan- 
ces, where  the  Rev.  John  O.  Choules  was  enter- 
tained. Mr.  Choules,  taking  his  host  aside  one 
day,  said  to  him,  '  When  you  look  around  you 
upon  the  system  that  every  where  prevails,  and 
see  that  light  is  breaking  in  upon  the  minds  of 
the  slaves,  are  you  not  alarmed  ?  Do  you  not  ap- 
prehend at  no  distant  day  a  terrible  convulsion 
that  shall  overwhelm  you  in  ruin,  and  issue  in  the 
extinction  of  the  whites  and  the  supremacy  of 
the  blacks?'  'Why,'  said  the  gentleman,  who 
was  an  officer  in  a  Baptist  church,  and  had  an 
unsullied  reputation  for  piety  and  consistency,  'I 
used  to  apprehend  such  a  catastrophe,  but  God 
has  made  a  providential  opening,  a  merciful  safe- 
ty-valve, and  now  I  do  not  feel  alarmed  in  the 
prospect  of  what  is  coming.'  'What  do  you 
mean,' said  Mr.  Choules,  '  by  Providence  open- 
ing a  merciful  safety-valve?'  'Why,'  said  the 
pious  Baptist,  *  I  will  tell  you  ;  the  slave-traders 
come  from  the  cotton  estates  of  Alabama,  and  the 
sugar  plantations  in  Louisiana,  and  are  willing  to 
buy  up  more  slaves  than  we  can  part  with. 
(Hear,  hear.)  We  must  keep  a  stock  for  the 
purpose  of  rearing  slaves,  but  we  part  with  the 
most  valuable,  and  at  the  same  time,  the  most, 
dangerous,  and  the  demand  is  very  constant  and 
likely  to  be  so,  for  when  they  go  to  these  south- 
ern States,  the  average  existence   is   only  five 


LONDON'.  185 

years.'  (Shame,  shame.)  Mr.  Thompson  then 
adduced  the  testimony  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  United  States,  in  reference  to  the  con- 
nection of  the  Presbyterian  church  with  the  sin 
of  slave-holding-.  At  a  General  Assembly  held 
at  Pittsburg,  in  May,  1835,  several  speeches  were 
made  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  There  were 
only  two  immediate  abolitionists  in  the  Assem- 
bly ;  yet,  notwithstanding  all  those  '  efforts  which, 
however  well  meant,'  it  was  stated  in  the  book 
published  by  the  Baptist  deputation,  'he  (Mr.  T.) 
had  rolled  back  the  cause,'  at  a  future  meeting 
of  the  Assembly,  instead  of  being  two,  there 
•were  forty-eight  immediate  abolitionists.  (Cheers.) 
So  that  it  was  not  possible,  as  on  a  former  occa- 
sion, to  burke  the  question  ;  hut  it  was  broadly 
raised  and  discussed  by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Dickey,  of 
Ohio,  and  Mr.  Stewart,  of  Illinois.  Mr.  Thomp- 
son then  quoted  some  of  the  observations  made 
by  the  Rev.  gentlemen  on  that  occasion.  Mr. 
Stewart  said,  'In  this  church  a  man  may  take  a 
free  born  child,  force  it  away  from  its  parents,  to 
whom  God  gave  it  in  charge,  saying,  '  Bring  this 
child  up  for  me,' — and  sell  it  as  a  beast,  or  hold  it 
in  perpetual  bondage,  and  not  only  escape  cor- 
poral punishment,  but  really  be  esteemed  an  ex- 
cellent Christian.'  There  was  a  case  in  point 
on  that  platform.  A  young  man  was  present,  of 
the  name  of  Moses  Roper,  the  son  of  an  Ameri- 
can General,  by  a  slave  woman,  once  a  slave  him- 
self, but  who  had  run  away,  and  was  now  free, 
because  he  Avas  on  British,  and  not  on  American 
soil.  (Loud  applause.)  'I  trust,' said  the  lectur- 
er, 'that  Mr.  Roper  will  allow  me  to  give  him 
my  hand,  though  I  have  "  rolled  back  the  cause  " 
of  emancipation.'  (Immense  cheering.) 
16* 


180  MEETING    AT 

Mr.  Hare  rose,  and  said,  that  Mr.  Roper  was 
a  member  of  Dr.  Cox's  church,  and  was  partly 
supported  by  the  Doctor. 

Mr.  Hoskins  said,  'He  would  have  been  a 
slave  now,  had  it  not  been  for  Dr.  Cox.'  (Cries 
of  '  No,  no.') 

Mr.  Thompson  begged  it  then  to  be  under- 
stood, that  Moses  Roper  was  now  enabled  to 
prosecute  his  studies,  in  consequence  of  the  lib- 
eral contributions  of  Dr.  Cox  and  Dr.  Morison. 
(Cheers.)  Mr.  Thompson  then  read  two  extracts 
from  the  New  York  Evangelist,  of  March  12, 
1836,  showing  that  the  Methodists  were  equally 
involved  with  the  Presbyterians  in  the  sin  of 
slaveholding.  He  also  read  an  extract  from  the 
speech  of  J.  A.  Thome,  Esq.,  of  Kentucky,  de- 
livered at  the  first  annual  meeting  of  the  Ameri- 
can Anti-Slavery  Society,  giving  a  lamentable 
picture  of  the  licentiou-ness  prevalent  among  the 
slaves  in  Kentucky,  where  Mr.  Thompson  observ- 
ed, slavery  existed  in  its  mildest  form.  He  held 
in  his  hand  some  excellent  letters  from  the  Rev. 
John  Rankin,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church- 
es of  Ripley  and  Strait-creek,  Brown  county, 
Ohio,  in  which  the  writer  pointed  out  how  unfa- 
vorable the  system  of  slavery  was,  in  its  conse- 
quences, as  well  as  in  its  nature,  to  the  extension 
of  Gospel  influence.  He  would  merely  say  of 
the  Baptist  denomination,  that  in  the  Southern 
States  of  America  there  were  upwards  of  3,000 
churches,  containing  more  than  157,000  members, 
almost  all,  both  ministers  and  members,  being 
slaveholders.  (Hear, hear,  hear.)  He  would  state 
one  fact,  on  the  authority  of  the  Rev.  Baron  Stow. 
A  Baptise  minister  tied  up  his  female  slave  on  a 
Sabbath  morning  with  his  own  hands,  and  flogged 


LONDON.  187 

itor  on  her  naked  back.  He  went  and  preached  I 
his  sermon — came  back,  and  flogged  her  again!  ' 
(Loud  cries  of  '  Shame,  shame,'  from  all  parts  of 
the  building.)  But  he  (Mr.  T.)  was  anxious  to 
put  the  meeting  in  possession  of  high  authority 
with  regard  to  the  state  of  the  public  mind  in  the 
United  States  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  He 
would,  therefore,  introduce  to  its  attention  Gen- 
eral George  M'Dufne,  Governor  of  South  Caroli- 
na, one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  distinguished 
men  in  that  country.  In  his  address  to  the  two 
Houses  of  Legislature,  at  the  opening  of  their 
last  session,  he  observed,  respecting  the  subject 
of  abolition,  'It  i.3  my  deliberate  opinion  that  the 
laws  of  every  community  should  punish  this  spe- 
cies of  interference  by  death,  without  benefit  of 
clergy,  regarding  the  authors  of  it  as  enemies  to 
the  human  race.  Nothing  could  be  more  appro- 
priate than  for  South  Carolina  to  set  the  example 
in  the  present  crisis,  and  I  trust  the  Lpgislature 
will  not  adjourn  till  it  discharges  this  high  duty 
of  patriotism.'  (Loud  laughter.)  He  (Mr.  T.) 
would  now  show  what  the  General's  theology  was 
— 'No  human  institution,  in  my  opinion,  is  more 
manifestly  consistent  with  the  will  of  God,  than 
domestic  slavery,'  ('Oh,  oh.')  He  would  look  at 
his  political  sentiments — 'Domestic  slavery,  in- 
stead of  being  a  political  evil,  is  the  cornerstone 
of  our  republican  edifice.'  (Laughter.)  Such  were 
the  views  of  General  George  M'DufiV, Governor 
of  South  Carolina  ;  and  yet,  he  (Mr.  T.)  was  call- 
ed a  '  calumniator,'  because  he  had  said  of  Amer- 
ica, that  she  was  '  a  wicked  nation.'  (Immense 
applause.)  Mr.  Thompson  having  reprobated  in 
strong  terms  the  sentiments  of  General  M'Duffie, 
then  alluded  to  a  small  work  published  by  A.  D. 
Sims,  A.  B.,  in  which  that  gentleman  represent- 


188  MEETING  AT 

ed  the  slaves  in  the  Southern  States  as  the  hap- 
piest people  on  earth ;  and  their  masters  as  pay- 
ing the  utmost  care  and  attention  to  the  comfort 
and  the  morals  of  their  slaves.  '  Were  it  the 
habit  of  the  author  ever  to  use  his  pen,  in  decking 
themes  of  declamation,  or  in  presenting,  in  pol- 
ished phrase  and  ornamental  language,  subjects 
to  delight  the  taste,,  or  amuse  the  imagination,  he 
knows  of  none  connected  with  human  happiness 
on  which  he  would  sooner  try  his  skill  than  negro 
slavery.'  (Loud  laughter.)  Mr.  Thompson  then 
pointed  out  the  absurdity  of  that  gentleman's 
views,  and  proceeded  to  charge  upon  the  minis- 
ters of  religion  in  America  the  guilt  of  slavery. 
He  read  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  ad- 
dressed by  the  Rev.  R.  N.  Anderson,  to  the  Ses- 
sions of  the  Presbyterian  congregations  within 
the  bounds  of  the  West  Hanover  Presbytery. 
'If  there  be  any  stray-goat  of  a  minister  among 
us,  tainted  with  the  bloodhound  principles  of  ab- 
olition, let  him  be  ferreted  out,  silenced,  excom- 
municated, and  given  over  to  the  public  to  be 
dealt  with  in  other  respects. — Your  affectionate 
brother  in  the  Lord.'  (Strong  marks  of  indigna- 
tion.) A  young  man,  who  was  prosecuting  his 
studies  for  the  ministry,  but  who  found  that  his 
pecuniary  means  were  nearly  exhausted, endeav- 
ored to  recruit,  them  by  going  to  Tennessee,  sell- 
ing cottage  Bibles.  Suspicions  were  excited  that 
he  was  connected  with  the  Anti-Slavery  Society  ; 
his  boxes  and  papers  were  examined,  and  himself 
apprehended.  Some  of  the  Bibles  were  found 
wrapped  up  in  papers,  containing  some  remarks 
favorable  to  Anti-Slavery  principles.  They  also 
found  a  letter  from  a  lady,  who  stated  that  she 
had  'talked  a  stream  of  abolition  for  200  miles.' 
(Cheers,)    Besides  these,  they  discovered  a  let- 


LONDON.  189 

tor  from  the  gentleman  who  had  furnished  him 
with  the  Bibles,  in  which  he  had  advised  him 
jocularly  '  not  to  spend  more  than  half  his  time 
among  the  Niggprs.'  The  young  man  was  tried 
before  a  Lynch  Committee,  and  upon  that  testi- 
mony alone  was  found  guilty  of  'an  intention  to 
speak  on  behalf  of  the  abolitionists,'  ('  oh,  oh,' 
and  laughter,)  and  was  sentenced  to  receive  20 
lashes  with  a  raw  cow-hide  ;  which  sentence  was 
immediately  carried  into  execution.  Upon  rising 
from  its  infliction,  he  praised  God  that  he  had 
been  counted  worthy  to  suffer  in  his  cause;  but 
his  voice  was  drowned  by  the  cries  of  the  infuri- 
ated mob,  ' him, him,'  'Stop  his  pray- 
ing.' Would  it  be  believed,  that  on  that  Lynch 
Committee,  there  sat  seven  elders  and  one  min- 
ister, some  of  whom  had  sat  with  the  young  man 
at  the  table  of  the  Lord  the  preceding  Sunday  ? 
(Cries  of  '  Shame  !  ')  And  yet  he  (Mr.  T.)  was 
called  '  a  calumniator,' because  he  said  America 
was  'a  wicked  nation.'  (Immense  cheering.) 
Mr.  Thompson  was  then  about  to  enter  upon  what 
he  termed  the  'bright  side  of  the  picture,'  when 
it  was  suggested  that  he  should  retire,  and  rest  a 
few  minutes.     In  the  interim, 

Ma.  M.  Roper*  addressed    the  meeting,  and 
stated  a  number  of  facts  which  had  ccme  under 


*This  man  escaped  from  Florida,  came  to  this  city 
where  he  remained  several  months.  His  complexion  was 
so  light,  and  his  features  so  '  European  '  that  he  passed 
for  a  white  man — was  warned  to  do  and  actually  did  mili- 
tary duty.  He  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  obtain  an  edu- 
cation— hoping  that  it  might  in  some  way  afford  him  the 
means  of  procuring  the  liberation  of  his  mother  and  sister, 
who  are  still  in  slavery. 


190  MEETING  AT 

his  own  knowledge,  demonstrative  of  tlie  horrors 
and  cruelties  of  American  slavery.  Oni  case 
which  he  mentioned,  was  that  of  a  slave  who  oc- 
casionally preached  to  his  fellow-bondsmen.  His 
master  threatened  that  if  he  ever  preached  on  the 
Sabbath  again,  he  would  give  him  5C0  lashes  on 
the  Monday  merning.  He  disobeyed  the  order, 
however,  and  preached,  unknown  to  his  master. 
He  became  alarmed,  ran  away  from  Georgia, and 
crossed  the  river  into  South  Carolina,  where  he 
took  refuge  m  a  barn  belonging  So  a  Mr.  Garri- 
son. Mrs.  Garrison  saw  him  in  the  barn,  and  in- 
formed her  husband  of  it.  Mr.  Garrison  got  his 
rifle  and  shot  at  him.  The  law  required  that  they 
sliouild  call  upon  a  slave  to  stop  three  tinaes  fee- 
fore  they  fired  at  him  ;  Mr.  Garrison  called,  but 
he  did  not  stop.  The  ball  missed  him,  and  Mr. 
Garrison  then  struck  him  with  the  gun  and  knock- 
ed him  down.  The  slave  wrested  it  from  him, 
and  struck  him  [Mr.  G.]  with  it.  The  slave  was 
taken  up  for  it ;  his  master  went  after  him  ;  Mr. 
Garrison  purchased  him  for  500  dollars,  and  burn- 
ed him  alive. 

Mr.  TnoMPSox  then  resumed,  and  gave  an  in- 
teresting detail,  through  which  our  limits  will  not 
allow  us  to  follow  him,  of  the  rise  and  progress 
of  the  anti-slavery  cause  in  America.  At  one 
meeting  in  New  York,  after  the  other  religious 
and  benevolent  societies  had  held  their  anniver- 
sary meetings,  15,000  dollars  were  collected  ;  an 
immense  number  of  ministers  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  had  joined  the  Society,  and  the  students 
of  many  colleges  he  had  visited  received  him  with 
the  utmost  cordiality.  His  accounts  were  heard 
with  frequent  expressions  of  applause.  He  would 
now  come  to  the  '  vexed  question,'  the  agitating, 
Xke  affecting  question,  and  to  the  book  which  ha 


LONDON.  J'Ol 

held  in  his  hand,  'The  Baptists  in  America.'  He 
was  glad  that  he  had  talked  thus  far  5  tor  he  had 
talked  away  every  lingering  feeling  of  a  person- 
al nature  which  he  might  have  had  when  lie  en- 
tered that  place,  lie  would  give  a  plain  and 
faithful  statement  of  the  steps  which  led  to  that 
conduct  on  his  part,  which  had  been  particularly 
animadverted  upon  by  certain  individuals  in  this 
country.  He  knew  the  position  in  which  the 
Baptists  stood  in  \h is  country  before  toe  went  out, 
and  what  they  had  done  in  the  last  greatstruggle 
for  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  the  British 
colonies.  It  had  been  his  pleasure  to  introduce 
Mr.  Kuibb  to  more  than  one  auditory  where  he 
had  himself  heen  lecturing.  He  loved  and  hon- 
ored the  Baptists,  he  carried  with  him  a  good  re- 
port of  them  to  America,  and  sincerely  rejoic«d 
when  they  had  appointed  two  delegates  to  visit 
that  country.  lie  would,  in  the  first  place,  ex- 
plain the  reason  why  Dr,  Hoby  was  not  invited  to 
attend  the  Anti-Slavery  meeting  in  N-ew  York* 
The  meeting  must  understand,  as  a  preliminary 
observation,  that  the  Colonizationists  and  the 
Abolitionists  of  America  were  at  antipodes.  The 
former  rested  upon  expediency,  the  latter  upon 
the  uncompromising  principles  of  justice  a*xl  re- 
ligion. Any  man  who  had  the  least,  feeling  for 
the  Colonizationists,  would  not  be  received  with 
confidenoe  by  the  black  population,  who  consid- 
ered every  man  as  practically  their  enemy  who 
advocated  colonization.  He  was  aware,  from  in- 
terviews which  he  had  had  with  Dr.  Hoby,  that 
that  gentleman  was  friendly  to  the  plan  of  com- 
pensation and  colonization.  W'hercver  Tie  wont 
in  America  he  Avas  questioned  respecting  the 
views  of  the  delegates,  and  he  stated  what  were 
Dc.  lloby's  sentiments.     With  regard  to  Dr.  Cox, 


192  MEETING  AT 

he  stated,  that  that  gentleman  was  a  member  of 
the  British  and  Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  and 
pledged  to  the  question,  and  he  believed  that  he 
repudiated  colonization.  Tins  he  stated  before 
the  delegates  arrived  in  America.  The  Rev, 
Mr.  Choules  was  passing  through  Boston,  and 
said  that  he  would,  if  possible,  see  Drs.  Cox  and 
Hoby  at  New  York,  before  they  went  to  Rich- 
mond ;  for  if  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  colo- 
nizationists  and  slave-owners  in  Virginia,  the  ab- 
olitionists would  lose  them;  Mr.  Choules  missed 
them,  they  were  gone  in  the  steam-boat  to  Rich- 
mond. Mr.  Lewis  Tappan,  and  other  members 
of  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  asked  him. 
(Mr.  T.)  whether  they  should  invite  both  Drs.  Cox 
and  Hoby  to  their  meeting,  but  he  told  them  that 
they  could  not  invite  the  latter  for  the  reasons  he 
had  already  stated,  but  that  they  might  and  ought 
to  invite  the  former.  They  sent  an  invitation  ad- 
dressed to  him  at  Richmond,  but  three  weeks 
elapsed  without  any  answer  being  received.  He 
heard  that  Dr.  Cox  was  to  preach  at  Philadelphia 
on  the  Sunday,  and  arrive  at  New  York  on  the- 
Monday  preceding  the  day  of  holding  the  meet- 
ing. A  deputaton  was  appointed  to  see  the  doc- 
tor, he  (Mr.  T.)  being  one  of  the  number.  John 
Rankin,  Esq.,  commenced  the  conversation  by 
asking  Dr.  Cox  whether  he  had  received  the  let- 
ter. He  stated  he  had  ;  but  they  did  not  press 
for  the  reason  why  he  had  not  answered  it.  They 
told  him  that  it  would  be  a  full  meeting,  and  that 
they  expected  he  would  be  present.  Dr.  Cox  re- 
plied that  it  was  a  delicate  question  (laughter.) 
and  that  he  had  been  told,  within  half  an  hour, 
that  if  he  went  to  the  meeting  it  would  ho  ntthe 
risk  of  his  life.  (Laughter.)  Pie  (Mr.  T.)  re- 
marked, that  he  had  been  in  America  nine  mouths. 


lONDON.  193 

that  wherever  he  went  he  had  been  pursued  by 
calumny  and  persecution,  but  he  was  alive,  cheer* 
ful,  courageous,  hopeful,  and  that  ho  (Dr.  C.) 
might  do  Ins  duty  and  be  safe.  (Hear,  hear.) 
'  VVell,'  said  Dr.  Cox,  'but  I  have  been  told  that 
if  I  go  to  the  meeting  I  shall  get  a  jacket  of  tar 
and  feathers.'  (Loud  laughter.)  tie  (Mr.  T.) 
told  Dr.  Cox  that  he  would  go  too  and  share  it 
with  him  (loud  applause,)  it  would  honor  them 
both.  (Laughter  and  great  cheering.)  The  con- 
versation was  then  carried  on  principally  by  John 
Rankin, Esq.,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Winslow,  a  Bap- 
tist minister,  and  Dr.  Cox's  replies  were  to  the 
effect,  '  You  know  there  is  a  political  bearing  in 
the  question.'  With  that  they  assured  him  they 
had  nothing  to  do,  they  stood  upon  the  high 
ground  of  humanity  and  religion;  they  did  not 
wish  him  to  appear  as  a  Baptist  delegate,  but  to 
come  as  a  man  and  a  Christian.  (Cheers.)  When 
those  gentlemen  had  finished  their  conversation 
with  Dr.  Cox,  he  (Mr.  T.)  said  to  him,  '  Dr.  Cox, 
you  know  what  are  the  expectations  of  our  com- 
inoH  country  (hear,  hear) — you  know  what  your 
denomination  has  done  in  England  for  this  cause, 
and  I  beseech  you  come  For  the  sake  of  humanity, 
for  the  sake  of  our  country,  for  the  sake  of  that 
religion  whose  minister  you  are.'  The  doctor  re- 
plied, '  I  cannot  give  an  answer  now  (laughter  and 
hisse  •) ;  send  at  half  pafl  nine  in  the  morning  and 
I  will  give  an  answer.'  lie  again  assured  the 
doctor  that  they  would  have  a  splendid  meeting, 
and  said,  'Yon  will  have  the  elile  of  all  parties  ; 
pray  deliver  your  soul,  and  bear  a  fearless  testi- 
mony for  Cod  against  the  iniquity  of  the  land.' 
That  was  the  language  he  had  held  to  Dr.  JLeed 
some  months  before,  but  without  effect:— but  of 
(hat  more  hereafter.  It  was  with  a  sorrowful,  and 
17 


194  MEETING    AT 

almost  broken  heart,  he  (Mr.  T.)  left.  He  could 
truly  say  before  his  Maker,  it  was  the  severest 
infliction,  the  most  keen  and  cutting  event  that 
had  occurred  to  him  since  his  landing  in  the  Uni- 
ted States.  On  quitting  the  house,  John  Rankin, 
Esq.,  observed,  '  H  these  be  the  men  you  send 
from  England,  we  shall  pray  Guil  that  no  more 
may  ever  cross  the  Atlantic'  (Immense  cheer- 
ing.) The  same  afternoon  it  was  proposed,  in  a 
meeting  of  delegates,  that  another  deputation 
should  wait  upon  Dr.  Cox  ;  but  one  of  the  gen- 
tlemen present  said,  'iNo!  if  Dr.  Cox  does  not 
deem  it  his  honor  to  be  here,  I  say  send  no  depu- 
tation to  him.'  He  (Mr.  T.)  however,  urged  them 
to  send  another  deputation,  for  he  believed  the 
doctor  to  have  been  worked  upon,  and  that  he 
was  the  dupe  of  colonizationiats  and  slaveholders. 
Ten  gentlemen  were  appointed  to  wait  upon  Dv. 
Cox,  most  of  whom  were  men  of  high  standing, 
and  all  of  whom  were  men  of  piety  and  general 
influence.  Dr.  Cox  again  promised,  if  he  did  not 
attend,  to  send  his  reasons  fur  not  corning,  at  half 
past  nine  on  the  morrow  morning.  The  next  day 
he  (Mr.  T.)  left  the  house  of  Mr.  Rankin  to  pre- 
(Teed  to  a  public  meeting,  and  he  never  went  to 
a  meeting  with  such  a  heavy  heart.  When  he 
went  to  meet  an  opponent,  ho  went  strong  in  the 
justice  of  his  cause,  strong  in  the  blessings  and 
prayers  of  the  suffering  and  oppressed  negror 
strong  in  the  invincibility  of  truth,  strong  in  the 
omnipotence  of  God.  But  when  halting  between 
two  opinions,  doubting  whether  Dr.  Cox  would* 
be  there,  but  at  the  same  time  rather  inclining  to 
believe  that  he  would  not,  he  did  blush  for  hi* 
country,  and  felt  it  that  day  dishonored.  (LoufP 
cries  of  hear,  hear.)  lie  went  to  the  meeting, 
and  took  his  seat  on   the  platform;  the    business 


LONDON.  195 

commenced  by  prayer  ;  during  the  reading  of  the 
report  he  saw  Mr.  Rankin  coming  down  the  aisle  ; 
he  (Mr.  T.)  looked  anxiously  towards  him,  and  at 
length  caught  his  «ye  ;  Mr.  R.  knew  what  lie 
meant,  and  shook  his  head.  He  (Mr.  T.)  knew 
nothing  of  that  note  which  Dr.  Cox  spoke  of  in 
his  book:  he  pledged  his  honor  and  his  credit, 
that  there  was  no  intent  to  suppress  that  letter — 
no  intention  of  tampering  with  Mr.  Rankin  ;  it 
was  purely  '  accidental  and  unintentional '  that 
the  letter  was  not  produced;  if  it  had,  it  would 
have  been  the  text  on  which  he  '(Mr.  T.)  should 
have  spoken*,  he  should  have  vindicated  himself 
to  his  country,  his  constituents,  and  the  abolition- 
ists of  America,  from  the  foul  charge  of  making 
this  a  political  question.  (Hear,  hear,  and  loud 
cheers.)  Mr.  Rankin's  shake  of  the  head  was 
enough  to  sadden  him  for  the  remainder  of  the 
day.  The  first  resolution  was  moved  by  Mr.  Bir- 
ney  ;  the  second  by  the  Rev.  Baron  Stow,  who 
took  that  resolution  which  it  was  intended  to  give 
to  the  Rev.  Doctor,  should  ho  have  come  unpre- 
pared with  one  of  his  own.  Mr.  T.  then  quoted 
the  speech  of  the  Rev.  B.  Stow,  and  stated  that 
he  was  then  called  on  to  speak.  He  conjured  his 
Baptist  brethren,  by  their  love  to  truth,  and  their 
hatred  of  compromise  and  expediency,  to  imagine 
the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  then  placed. 
( Hear,  hear.)  What  did  he  say  on  that  occasion  ? 
He  would  give  his  language  verbatim,  taken  down 
by  Mr.  Stanshury,  a  celebrated  stenographist, 
brought  from  Washington  to  report  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  May  meetings  in  the  New  York  Ob- 
server, a  paper  unfavorable  to  immediate  aboli- 
tion, and  a  paper,  the  very  number  of  which  that 
contained  his  speech,  contained  an  editorial  arti- 
cle, censuring  him  (Mr.  T.)  for  the  severity  of  his 


196  MEETING    AT 

strictures  on  the  conduct  of  Dr.  Cox.  Consider- 
ing all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  then,  what 
T?as  the  measure  of  his  guilt  in  uttering  the  fol- 
lowing words  ?  Mr.  Thompson  then  read  from 
the  JVeiv  York  Observer,  extracts  from  his  speech 
on  that  occasion  :  the  following  is  the  concluding 
passage  : 

'Two  of  his  countrymen  had  been-  deputed  to  visit  this 
country — one  of  them  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Society  for  the  Extinction  of  Slavery 
and  the  Slave  Trade  throughout  the  World, and  belonging 
to  a  Christian  denomination  which  had  actually  memorial- 
ized all  their  sister  churches  in  this  land  on  this  subject. 
My  heart  leaped  when  I  learned  that  they  were  to  be  here 
— especially  that  one  of  them  whose  name  stood  before  the 
blank  which  is  to  be  left  in  the  record  of  this  days  pro- 
ceeding. Where  J^  he  now  1  He  is  in  this  city.  Why 
is  he  not  here  1  The  reason  I  shall  leave  for  himself  to 
explain.  Sir,  (said  Mr.  T.)  in  this  very  fact,  I  behold  a, 
new  proof  of  the  power,  of  the  omnipotence  of  slavery; 
by  its  torpedo  touch  a  man  has  been  struck  dumb  who  was 
eloquent  in  England  on  the  side  of  its  open  opposers. 
What  !  is  it  come  to  this  1  Shall  he,  or  shall  I,  advocate 
the  cause  of  emancipation,  of  immediate  emancipation, 
only  because  we  are  Englishmen1!  Perish  the  thought! 
— before  i  can  entertain  such  a  thought,  I  must  be  recre- 
ant to  all  the  principles  of  the  Bible — to  all  the  claims  of 
truth,  of  honor,  of  humanity.  No,  Sir;  if  a  man  is  not 
the  same  in  every  latitude — if  he  would  advocate  a  cause 
•with  eloquence  and  ardor  in  Exeter  Hall,  in  the  midst  of 
admiring  thousands — but,  because  he  is  in  America,  can 
close  his  lips,  and  desert  the  cause  he  once  espoused — I 
denounce,  I  abjure  him,  as  a  coadjutor  in  the  cause  in 
which  I  am  engaged.  Let  him  carry  his  philanthropy 
home  again  ' — (loud  cheers) — ■  there  let  him  display  it  in 
the  loftiest  or  the  tenderest  strains  ;  but  let  him  never  step 
his  foot  abroad,  until  he  is  prepared  to  show  to  the  world 
U\ac  he  is  the  friend  of  his  kind  of  every  country.'  (Loud 
and  long-continued  cheers.) 

'This,'  said  Mr.  T.,  '  is  the  very  head  and  front 
of  my  offending !     Judge   ye  whether  I  do  not 


LONDON.  19? 

only  stand  excused,  but  stand  justified?— (hear, 
hear,  and  cheers-)— whether  I  should  not  have 
shared  the  guilt,  if  guilt  there  be,  of  deserting 
this  cause,  had  1  not  said  what  I  did  say  ?  (Loud 
cheers.)  I  stand  not  here  to  palliate  or  to  con- 
ceal!  No!  I  glory  in  what  I  have  done;  and 
J  have  said  in  the  Committee  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society,  in  the  presence  of 
Dr.  Cox,  that  if  I  had  to  do  it  over  again,  I  should 
do  it  as  I  have  done — with  this  difference  only, 
that  if  my  poor  vocabulary  would  furnish  me  with 
words  in  which  more  strongly  to  express  my  re- 
gret, my  abhorrence  for  such  conduct  as  that  I 
have  described,  I  would  use  them.  (Hear,  hear, 
and  cheers.)  I  do  not  ask  the  meeting  to  look 
critically  at  the  words  themselves,  but  to  the  sen- 
timents they  convey,  and  either  to  justify  or  dis- 
approve my  conduct.'  (Loud  cheers.)  But  now 
he  must  advert  to  the  letter  which  Dr.  Cox  -had 
sent,  upon  the  suppression  of  which  so  much 
stress  had  been  laid.  The  meeting  had  heard 
the  report  of  his  (Mr.  T's)  speech  read  from  the 
JYttv  York  Observer;  but  Dr.  Hoby,  instead  of 
taking  that  report — which,  though  furnished  by 
an  opponent,  he  (Mr.  T.)  preferred  to  a  friend's 
— (laughter) — he  (Dr.  H.)  made  a  speech  for  him: 
and  he  would  wish  the  meeting  to  compare  that 
speech  with  the  report  lie  had  just  lead.  Dr. 
Hoby  said,  'Mr.  Thompson  commenced  his 
speech  with  a  reference  to  the  disappointment  he 
felt  at  the  absence  of  Dr.  Cox,  mi  temperate  lan- 
guage, and  such  as  could  not  give  offence  ;  but 
lie  ought  also  to  have  read  the  sliort  letter  which 
was  omitted.  At  the  close  of  his  address,  he  re- 
sumed, in  a  very  different  strain  and  spirit,  the 
language  of  denunciation;  and,  though  he  chiefly 
referred  to  Dr.  Cox,  by   speaking    in   the  plural 

17* 


i98  MEETING    AT 

number  of  the  delegates,  he  included  both  when 
he  said  they  were  '  men  of  whom  their  brethren 
and  country  ought  to  be  ashamed,  whom  he  blush- 
ed to  own  as  countrymen,  and  who,  as  recreant 
to  their  principles,  and  acting  under  the  influence 
of  disgraceful  motives,  were  unfaithful  represent- 
atives, and  would  be  scorned  on  their  return."' — 
'Now,  Sir,'  (said  Mr.  Thompson)  'as  Heaven  is 
to  be  my  judge,  1  uttered  not  a  word  of  that !  ' 

Mr.  Hare  rose,  and  said  that  he  recollected 
reading  that  part  of  Mr.  Thompson's  speech  in 
the  New  York  Evangelist. 

Mr.  Thompson  :  Which  ? 

Mr.  Hare  :  That  in  which  the  word  'recre- 
ant' occurs; — which  you  have  just  read  from  the 
book.  Mr.  Thompson  has  said  that  Dr.  Hoby 
made  a  speech  for  him.  (Considerable  confu- 
sion.) 

Mr.  Thompson  begged  the  meeting  would  not 
think  that  these  interruptions  would  be  at  all  in- 
jurious to  him,  or  comfuse  in  the  slightest  the 
train  of  his  remarks.  He  would  rather  that  ob- 
servations should  be  made  at  the  moment  at 
which  they  occurred  to  the  persons  present.  Mr. 
Hare  had  said  that  the  words  which  Dr.  Hoby 
put  into  his  (Mr.  T's)  mouth,  he  (Mr.  H.)had  read 
in  the  New  York  Evangelist ;  and  therefore  he 
supposed  Mr.  Hare  meant  to  infer  that  Dr.  Hoby 
had  taken  the  words  in  question  from  that  jour- 
nal ?  J 

Mr.  Hare. — Certainly. 

Mr.  Thompson. — But  what  said  Dr.  Hoby  ? 
*  These  words,  or  words  of  a  similar  impott,  are 


l.OKDON*.  109 

not  given  in  the  printed  reports  of  the  speeches, 
which  differ  much  from  one  another  '  (loud  laugh- 
ter, and  longf  continued  cheering;)  'but  enough 
is  given  with  the  direct  sanction  of  the  Society  ;' 
and  then  came  a  note  of  his  speech,  taken  almost 
verbatim  from  the  report  which  lie  had  just  read 
in  the  New  York  Observer: — 'Enough  is  given 
with  the  direct  sanction  of  the  Society,  to  justify 
the  interruption  occasioned  by  my  advancing  to 
the  front  of  the  gallery,  and,  apologizing  for  such 
interference,  requesting  Mr.  T.  to  forego  all  such 
censure,  as  both  unjustifiable  and  injurious.'  Such 
a  report  might  have  appeared  in  the  Neiv  York 
Evangelist,  but  both  the  Evangelist  and  Observer 
were  sent  to  him  with  a  note,  begging  he  would 
choose  the  best  report,  to  be  furnished  for  inser- 
tion in  the  official  report  of  the  meeting,  and  he 
could    not   remember   that   he  had   seen  in  the 
Evangelist  nny  thing  like  the  language  attributed 
to  him  by  Dr.  Iloby.     If  Mr.  Hare  could  find  in 
the  JYeiv  York  Evangelist  a  copy  of  that  speech, 
he  [Mr.  Thompson]  would  bo  obliged  by  its  be- 
ing forwarded  to  him,  and  he  would  see  that  it 
should  he  published  in  the  pamphlet  he  was  about 
to  lay  before  the  world.     Thus  they  had  arrived 
at  the  close  of  that  day's  proceedings.     But  he 
had  yet  to  read  the  letter  which  I)r.  Cox  had  sent 
to  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society  ;  and  were 
he  disposed  to  censure  the  Doctor,  he  should  say 
that  that  letter  was  the  most  unkind,  unchristian 
letter  that  a  man  could  frame.     He  would  ask  his 
brethren  around  him,  who  had  been  his   honored 
coadjutors  in  this  cause,  Did   they  ever  place  it 
upon  political  principles?     [Loud  cries  of  '  No, 
no.']     Did  they  ever  make  any  way,  was  not  the 
vessel  of  abolition  ever  retarded,  by  its  own  vis 
inertire,  until  they  assumed  the  high  ground,  that 


200  MEETING    AT 

slaveholding  was  a  sin  in  the  eye  of  God? 
[Cheers.]  What  did  the  Doctor  say  in  this  let- 
ter ? — 'If  I  decline  the  honor  of  appearing  on 
your  platform  this  day,  on  occasion  of  your  anni- 
versary meeting,  I  must  be  understood  to  assume 
a  position  of  neutrality.'  ■  Neutrality  !  '  [said  Mr. 
T.]  'If  there  be  a  word  in  the  English  language 
that  I  loathe  more  than  another,  it  is  that,  word 
'neutrality.'  [Loud  cheers.]  'Neutrality!'  God 
abhors  it !  '  Neutrality  ! '  '  Choose  ye  this  day 
whom  ye  will  serve' — 'Why  halt  ye  between 
two  opinions'?  '  Why  stand  ye,  motionless  as  a 
pendulum,  with  weeping,  suffering,  bleeding  hu- 
manity, here,  and  frowning  despotism  there  ? 
[Immense  applause.]  '  Neutrality'!'  with  the  Bi- 
ble in  your  hand — with  your  ecclesiastical  honors 
thick  upon  you  [loud  laughter  and  cheers] — with 
your  ecclesiastical  appointments  in  your  pockets, 
and  the  pledges  remembered,  or  which  ought  to 
have  been  remembered,  why  stand  ye  neutral? 
[Tremendous  cheering.]  '  I  must  be  understood 
to  assume  a  position  of  neutrality,  not  with  re- 
gard to  those  oreat  principles  and  objects  which 
it  is  well  known  Britain  in  general,  and  our  de- 
nomination in  particular,  have  maintained  and 
promoted,  but  with  regard  solely  to  the  political 
bearings  of  th<?  question  with  which,  as  a  stran- 
ger, a  Foreigner,  a  visitor,  I  could  not  attempt  to 
intermeddle."1  '  Now,  Sirs,'  [continued  Mr.  T.] 
'this  was  'the  unkind  est  cut  of  all  ! '  Suppose 
I  had  had  that  letter,  should  I  have  been  afraid  to 
read  it?  [Hear,  hear.]  Think  vou  that  the  indi- 
vidual who  has  come  here  to-night  with  the  threat 
before  his  eyes,  that  if  he  dares  to  speak  honestlv 
lie  'shall  be  crushed,'  ['  Shamc.shame  !']—  think 
you  that  such  an  individual  would  have  feared  to 
read  that  letter?'  ["Loud  applause.]  Oh,  '1  mu*t 


LONDON.  201 

have  had  'some  covert,  powerful,  all-sufficient 
motive,'  for  suppressing  that  letter. —  [laughter, 
and  cheers,] — enough  to  induce  Dr.  Cox  to  piny 
upon  the  word  with  dray-horse  wit,  going  most 
sluggishly  along,  [loud  laughter,]  harping  contin- 
ually upon  it,  that  the  concealment  of  that,  letter 
was,  '  perhaps,  purely  accidental  and  uninten- 
tional,' and  intimating,  hut  in  Latin,  that  my  ve- 
racity ought  to  be,  and  cannot  but  be,  doubted. 
[Cheers.]  What  was  there  in  that  letter  that  I 
should  wish  to  conceal  ?  If  I  had  been  tempted 
to  conceal  it,  it  would  have  been  under  a  very 
different  motive  from  that  which  has  been  insinu- 
ated. I  do  say,  that,  branding  me,  ns  it  docs, 
most  unequivocally,  as  an  '  intermeddler,' — for  I 
was  ' a  foreigner,'  I  was  'a  stranger,'  I  was  'a 
visitor,' — I  say,  without  hesitation,  that  letter 
marked  me  out  for  immolation.  [Enthusiastic 
cheering.]  There  were  thousands  in  that  city 
waiting  to  rejoice  over  my  destruction  ;  there 
were  paid  myrmidons,  seeking  my  blood;  and 
here  was  my  countryman,  branding  me  as  a  for- 
eigner, a  stranger,  a  visitor,  and,  therefore,  as  an 
1  intermeddler.'  [Loud  cries  of '  Shame,  shame.'] 
Think  you  that,  for  these  reasons,  I  should  have 
withheld  it?  Oh,  that  T  had  had  that  letter  !  One  of 
old  exclaimed,  k  Would  that  mine  enemy  would 
write  a  book!'  Had  he  lived  in  these  days,  he 
would  have  said,  'Would  that  mine  enemy  would 
write  a  note  ! ' — [Immense  cheering,] — would  that 
mine  enemy  would  print  a  note!  [Laughter  and 
renewed  cheering.]  'The  political  bearings  of 
the  question,' '  with  which,  as  a  stranger,  a  for- 
eigner, a  visitor,  I  could  not  intermeddle.'  Now, 
was  Dr.  Cox  called  on  to  intermeddle  ?  Yes  ! 
When  he  was  selected  as  one  of  the  Baptist  del- 
egates was  he  expected  to  advocate  tUe  anti-sla.- 


202  MEETING    AT 

very  cause  ?  He  wa^.  When  the  appeal  was 
laadc  to  the  Baptist  churches  to  support  the  mis- 
sion, were  they  led  to  expect  that  the  Deputation 
would  advocate  the  anti-slavery  cause  ?  They 
were.  When  Dr.  Cox  was  in  the  midst  of  his 
brethren,  was  this  question  put  to  hi  us— '  Dr.  Cox^ 
you  know  the  pnjudices  that  exist  in  .America 
against  colored  people, — what  will  you  do  ?  '  and 
what  did  he  reply?'' 

The  Rkv.  Mr.  Belchjer  asked,  Where?  [Par- 
tial cries  of 'Hear,  hear,'  and  some  confusion.] 

The  Rev.  T.  Prick  rose  and  said,  'I  stated  at 
a  meeting  at  Fen-court,  in  the  presence  of  Dr. 
Cox,  that  I  had  put  that  question  to  him,  and  Dr. 
Cox  never  denied  it.'  [Loud  cries  of  *  Hear, 
hear.'] 

The  Rev.  J.  Be&cbsb  :  That  was  not  my  ques- 
tion. Where  was  the  question  put?  [Great 
confusion.] 

The  Rev.  T.  Price  :  T  did  not  intend  to  speak 
to-night,  but  there  is  something  so  exceedingly 
disingenuous — I  might  use  a  stronger  term — iu 
this  attempt  of  Mr.  Belcher's  to  throw  dust  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Assembly,  that  I  must  state  these 
facts.  I  stntod  two  or  three  months  ago,  in  the 
presence  of  Dr.  Cox,  at  Fen-court,  the  questions 
I  had  -put  to  him  before  he  went  to  America  ;  and 
I  stated  further  the  answers  which  Dr.  Cox  had 
given  to  me.  It  was  then  asked  where  I  had  put 
them.  I  replied  that  T  thought  it  was  at  a  cer- 
tain place,  but  I  cnnld  not  exactly  remeoiber 
where;  k  wai  however  at  one  of  the  meetings  of 
the  Committee  of  the  Baptist  Union,  and  Dr.  Cox 
Aje-ver  denied  that  those  questions  were  so  put  U 


turn  and  answered  by  him.  Same  of  the  Com- 
mittee said  they  heard  me  put  the  questions, 
though  they  could  not  remember  the  room  where 
they  were  put.     [Loud  cheers.] 

Mr.  Law,  who  rose  amidst  great  confusion, 
was  understood  to  observe  that  as  this  discussion 
Would  be  greatly  protracted,  so  as  probably  to  ex- 
clude any  possibility  of  a  reply,  he  thought  it 
would  bu  well  to  observe  that  the  remarks  of  Mr. 
Price  seemed  to  intimate  that  the  entire  body  of 
ministers  of  the  Baptist  denomination  concurred 
in  the  questions  which  he  had  proposed  to  Dr. 
Cox. 

Mr.  Thompson  said,  these  interruptions  were 
out  of  order,  and  he  perhaps  should  have  stated 
before,  that  he  was  not  bound  to  hear  remarks 
from  any  individual  present;  the  only  person's 
with  whom  he  had  to  do  were  Drs.  Cox  and  Hoby. 
He  hud  written  to  Dr.  Cox  the  following  letter : 

'Ret.  Sik, — The  Baptist  Chapel  in  Devonshire 
Square  having  been  kindly  offered  me  for  die  delivery  of 
a  lecture  on  American  Slavery}  ami  the  principles  and  pro- 
greM  of  the  Anti-Slaveiy  Society  in  the  United  States; 
and  also  for  the  purpose  of  giving  information  relative  to 
the  course  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  adopt  in  reference"  to  your- 
self and* conVngwe,  Dr.  Hoby;  1  beg  to  inform  you  that  I 
have  accepted  the  offer,  and  decided  to  hold  a  public  meet- 
ing 011  Thursday  evening  next,  the  26th  inst.  I  deem  it 
an  act  of  justice  to  acquaint  you  with  this  intention,  and 
to  say  that  full  opportunity  will  be  afforded  you  of  demand- 
ing any  explanation  of  my  public  conduct  in  the  United 
States,  in  reference  either  to  yourself  or  the  cause  which  I 
advocated,  and  to  reply  in  detail  to  any  of  the  statements 
1  may  consider  it  necessary  to  make.' 

This  letter  was  dated  May  20.  Dr.  Cox  ac- 
Inowk-d  the  receipt  of  that  letter  in  the  Patriot 


204  MEETING  AT 

of  yesterday,  (Wednesday,  the  25th  ;)  he  said  he 
'had  employed  his  pen,  and  he  meant  to  save  his 
breath.' 

Mr.  Baldwin  :  I  rise,  sir,  upon  a  point  of  or- 
der. I  submit,  that  no  person  can  address  this 
assembly,  except  Drs.  Cox  and  Hoby,  or  some 
persons  delegated  by  them  to  act  on  their  behalf. 
[Hear,  hear,  hear.] 

Mr.  Pewtress  rose  to  move  the  adjournment. 
[Cries  of  '  No,  no.'] 

Mr.  Thompson:  Sir,  this  is  my  lecture  ;  it  is 
not  competent  for  any  person  to  move  an  adjourn- 
ment.    [Loud  cries  of  Hear,  hear.'] 

The  Rev.  T.  Price  :  I  have  given  Mr.  Thomp- 
son permission  to  deliver  his  lecture  in  this 
chape!,  and  he  can  occupy  it  as  long  as  he  pleas- 
es ;  no  other  person  has  a  right  to  move  the  ad- 
journment.    [Cheers.] 

Mr.  Thompson,  after  a  short  discussion,  pro- 
ceeded. He  had  written  to  Dr.  Hoby  also;  and 
as  the  Dr.  had  requested  that  his  letter  should  he 
read  at  the  lecture,  he  should  read  it,  whatever 
might  be  afterwards  decided  as  to  the  adjourn- 
ment, respecting  which  he  was  completely  in  the 
hands  of  the  audience.  He  would  merely  ob- 
serve, that  the  letter  to  Dr.  Hoby  differed  scarce- 
ly in  any  thing  from  that  sent  to  Dr.  Cox.  The 
following  is  the  letter  of  Dr.  Hoby,  dated  at 
Ledbury,  May  24,  1830. 

'Sik, — I  duly  received  your  letter  of  the  20ih,  comitin* 
locating  your  intention  to  hold  a  meeting  on  the  2Gll»  insi., 
for  the  purposes  therein  explained,  and  inviting  my  attend- 
ance, for  reasons  therein  specified.     In  reply>  I  have  only 


LONDON.  205 

to  sny,  that  to  be  in  London  at  that  time,  is  entirely  out  of 
my  power;  I  write  this  while  on  my  way  to  our  Associa- 
tion at  Coleford,  and  to  undertake  so  long  a  journey,  ex* 
press  ly  for  such  a  purpose,  would  he  altogether  out  of  the 
Question.  JNTo  previous  conference  having  taken  place  to 
ascertain  what  would  suit  my  convenience,  is  of  course 
evidence  that  any  concurrence  on  my  part  as  to  the  desira- 
bleness of  such  a  meeting  was  quite  immaterial.  As  yon 
gay,  *  you  deem  it  an  act  of  justice  to  acquaint  me,'  &c,  I 
have  only  to  add,  that  if  the  same  sense  of  justice  dictates 
your  statements  at  this  meeting)  nothing  will  he  said,  '  au 
explanation  '  of  which  1  shall  at  all  he  solicitous  to  demand, 
or  about  which  I  shall  he  in  the  least  concerned  to  '  reply 
in  detail.'  You  well  knew,  sir,  that  to  the  great  cause 
of  abolition, — immediate,  total,  universal  abolition, — I 
was  as  much  pledged  as  yourself  when  in  America,  and 
that  I  advocated  it  ceaselessly  upon  principles,  and  in  a 
way,  which  my  own  judgment  approved.  If  my  course  of 
proceeding  did  not  altogether  approve  itself  to  your  judg- 
ment, and  that  of  some  of  our  friends,  I  presume  I  was, 
nevertheless,  at  liberty  to  pursue  my  own  course,  actuated) 
as  I  know  I  was,  by  as  righteous  au  abhorrence  of  the  in- 
iquitous system  of  slavery  as  yourself.  When  you  bear  in 
mind,  that  I  was  not  so  much  as  invited  to  attend  the 
meeting  at  New  York,  nor  even  referred  to  in  the  imita- 
tion addressed  to  Dr.  Cox,  you  will  perceive  that  1  have 
some  reason  to  complain  of  uncourteousness  there,  and  of 
the  extreme  readiness  of  many  here  to  pour  their  anony- 
mous vituperations  upon  a  course  of  conduct  which  they  had 
Hot  given  themselves  the  trouble  to  inquire  into  and  un- 
derstand. I  have  only  further  to  express  my  most  earnest 
hope,  that,  notwithstanding  the  intemperance  and  indis- 
cretion which  appear  to  me  to  have  characterised  many  of 
the  efforts  to  awaken  hostility  against  American  Christians, 
Cod  will  overrule,  so  that  the  torpor  and  apathy  of  too 
many  of  all  denominations,  respecting  this  awful  iniquity  of 
slavery,  will  speedily  give:  place  to  a  holy,  philanthropic, 
and  righteous  sensihdity9  which  shall  hasten  both  to  confess 
and  to  compensate  the  wrongs  inflicted  on  injured  A I'rica. 
I  hereby  express  my  entire  concurrence  in  the  course  my 
colleague  pursued  relative  to  an  invitation  which  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  our  obligation,  and  request,  in  conclusion} 
that  your  letter  to  me,  and  this  reply,  may  l«?  read  at  lh« 
meeting  of  the  2(iih.' 
IS 


206  MEETING    AT  LONDON. 

Dr.  Cox  had  availed  himself  of  the  Patriot 
newspaper.  Mr.  Thompson  then  read  the  con- 
eluding  paragraph  of  Dr.  Cox's  letter  contained 
in  the  Patriot  of  Wednesday,  the  25th  inst.  He 
conceived  that,  after  these  letters,  no  person  had 
a  right  to  address  that  assembly,  on  behalf  of 
either  Dr.  Cox  or  Dr.  Hoby,  unless  they  had  au- 
thority to  do  so  from  them.     [Cheers.] 

Some  discussion  then  arose  as  to  the  propriety 
of  an  adjournment,  and  it  was  ultimately  agreed, 
that  Mr.  Thompson  should  defer  the  conclusion  oi" 
his  observations  until  Monday  evening,  the  3Qtk» 
ult. 

The  audience  then  separated. 


ADJOURNED   MEETING. 

The  adjourned  meeting-  was  held  at  Finsbury 
Chapel,  on  Monday  evening  last,  the  attendance 
at  which  was  very  numerous.     At  half-past  six, 

William  Knight,  Es^.,  took  the  chair,  and 
said,  that  having  been  requested  to  preside  over 
the  meeting  held  in  Devonshire  Square,  last 
Thursday  evening,  and  this  being  only  an  ad- 
journment of  that  meeting,  of  course  it  was  his 
duty  to  take  the  chair  on  the  present  occasion. 
Notices  had  been  sent  to  Brs.  Cox  and  Hoby  of 
the  present  meeting,  and  if  they  appeared,  of 
coarse  they  would  be  heard.  But  he  begged  it 
to  be  understood,  and  he  hoped  the  meeting 
would  support  him  in  that  decision,  that  no  other 
individual  could  be  heard,  unless  he  was  deputed 
in  writing  by  those  gentlemen  to  address  this  as- 
sembly on  their  behalf.     [Hear,  hear.] 

Mr.  Thompson  then  rose  to  address  the  audi- 
ence, and  was  received  with  leud  applause.  After 
again  assuring  the  meeting,  that  he  was  not  ac- 
tuated by  any  personal  feelings  in  reference  to 
the  remarks  he  was  about  to  make,  he  observ- 
ed, with  regard  to  slavery  and  the  slave-trade, 
that   at  the  present    moment  5,500,000  human 


208  MEETING  AT 

beings  were  held  in  bondage  by  Christian  nations, 
and  that  Africa  was  still  robbed  of  200,000  of  her 
children  annually.  It  was  therefore  necessary 
that  this  nation  should  be  as  alert  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  the  slave-trade  as  she  had  ever  been.  He 
believed  that  not  1,000  less  slaves  had  been  car- 
ried from  the  coast  of  Africa,  in  consequence  of 
all  the  eloquence  of  a  Wilberforce,  and  all  the 
untiring  labors  of  a  Clarkson  !  Let  it  be  granted, 
as  it  was  sometimes  said,  that  it  was  England 
who  had  fastened  the  horrid  system  of  slavery  on 
America;  that  it  was  England  who  had  planted 
that  upas  here,  and  that,  from  age  to  age,  the 
Anglo-Americans  had  watered  its  roots,  given 
fertility  to  its  branches,  and  circulation  to  its 
fruit.  Let  that  be  granted,  and  he  would  say  to 
America,  'If  you  criminate  us,  and  if  this  charge 
bo  brought  home  upon  us,  in  penitential  acknowl- 
edgment  for  our  sin,  we  go  forth,  wishing  to 
bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance,  to  that 
land  where  we  have  sown  the  seed,  and  brought 
up  the  crop,  in  order  that  we  may  tear  up  the  tree 
by  its  roots,  and  brandish  it  in  triumph  over  the 
heads  of  the  tyrants.  [Loud  and  long  continued 
cheers.]  If  America  wanted  England  to  bear 
the  disgrace  of  doing  the  deed,  England  wanted 
to  have  the  honor  of  undoing  the  deed.  [Loud 
cheers.]  In  the  slave  estates  of  America  it  was 
a  common  occurrence  to  see  a  coffle,  which  was 
a  gang  of  GO,  80,  or  100  slaves,  with  the  women 
huddled  up  in  a  waggon,  taken  to  different  parts 
of  the  country,  with  the  'star-spangled  banner  of 
America'  floating  over  their  heads,  and  with  the 
music  playing  to  cheer  them,  while  being  driven 
to  the  Capital  of  Washington.'  M.  T.  then  read 
a  dialogue  which  had  taken  place  between  a  Car- 
olinian and   a   Mississippian  planter  on  board  a 


"LONDON.  209 

Steamboat,  which  was  well  authenticated  by  the 
gentleman  who  heard  ft.  The  topic  of  conver- 
sation was  the  value  of  slaves;  and  it  was  stated 
that,  if  under  a  cerlain  weight,  (501bs.)  the  young- 
boys  were  sold  at  nine  dollars  per  pound  ;  so  that 
children  were,  by  religious  men,  weighed  in 
scales,  and  sold  by  the  pound  like  meat.  [l  Shame, 
shame.']  Every  paper  published  in  Washing- 
ton and  Alexandria  was  filled  with  advertise- 
ments of  slaves,  stating  the  terms,  and  inviting 
purchasers  to  come  in  and  look  round  '  the  stock.' 
Mrs.  Child,  the  authoress  of  several  works  on  edu- 
cation, had  informed  him  [Mr.  T.]  of  the  follow- 
ing fact,  which  came  under  her  own  knowledge. 
A  physician, named  Wallace,  had  married  a  young 
lady  from  the  South,  with  faint  traces  of  a  very 
remote  connexion  with  the  negro  race.  He  took 
her  to  Alexandria,  and  placed  her  at  the  head  of 
his  establishment.  They  had  not  long  been  there 
when  a  person  called  upon  the  physician,  and 
told  him  that  his  wife  was  his  female  slave,  and 
demaded  $800  for  her,  saying,  at  the  same  time, 
that  she  was  '  honestly  worth  1,000.''  [Laughter.] 
On  inquiry,  he  found  that  his  wife  had  been  a 
slave  ;  but  she  further  informed  him,  that  the  man 
who  claimed  her  as  his  slave  was  her  father. 
['Shame,  shame.']  That  was  a  specimen  of 
American  slavery,  and  yet  Doctors  of  Divinity, 
with  both  hands,  and  Englishmen  too,  said,  for- 
sooth, that  he  [Mr.  T.]  was  '  a  caluminiator,'  be- 
cause he  said  of  America,  that  she  was  a  wicked 
nation.  [Loud  Cheers.]  The  statements  con- 
tained in  the  book  to  which  he  had  formerly  re- 
ferred, The  Baptists  in  America,  reminded*  him 
of  the  couplet  of  Hudibras — 

*  They  who  drive  fat  oxen 
Should  themselves  be  fat.'     (l-au^hter.) 

18* 


210  MEETING  AT 

The  author  who  had  charged  him  [Mr.  T.]  with 
being  a  calumniator,  because  he  had  called  Amer- 
ica a  wicked  nation,  in  speaking"  of  France,  had 
used  this  singular  expression  :  '  I  rejoice  that  Ave 
are  uniting-  in  sending  missionaries  to  the  wick- 
ed, infatuated,  and  infidel  country  of  France.' 
[Cheers.]  When  he  [Mr.  T.]  said  America  was 
a  wicked  nation,  he  had  told  it  to  the  Americans 
themselves  a  hundred  times  ;  and  it  would  be  his 
consolation,  that,  whatever  he  had  said  of  them, 
he  had  said  before  their  face.  [Cheers.]  The 
slaves  of  America  were,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, without  religious  instruction.  There  were 
not  twelve  men  in  the  United  States  exclusively 
devoted  to  the  religious  instruction  of  the  slave 
population.  He  stated  that  on  the  authority  of 
the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  "He 
had  never  taken  up  the  -question  of  slavery  as 
connected  with  their  bodies  only:  he  had  always 
taken  his  stand  upon  the  ground,  that  slave-hold- 
ing was  in  itself  unjustifiable.  In  America,  the 
Bible  Society  had  offered,  in  concert  with  other 
nations,  to  give  the  sacred  Scriptures  to  every 
individual  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  in  his  ver- 
nacular tongue,  in  20  years,  while  there  were 
4(10,000  familes,  at  the  lowest  estimate,  of  slaves 
in  the  United  States,  who  were  not  comprehend- 
ed in  their  design.  [Hear,  hear,  hear.]  Yet,  if 
he  should  say  that,  and  put  at  the  end  of  it,  that 
America  was  a  wicked  nation,  oh,  he  was  told, 
he  was  '  a  calumniator.'  [Loud  cheers.]  The 
city  of  Charleston,  had  given  $500  to  the  Tract 
Society,  and  the  very  next  year  had  sent  a  citi- 
zen to  a  dungeon  for  having  given  a  tract  to  one 
of  the  slave  population.  ['Shame  shame.']  He 
must  say  of  American  slavery,  that  it  was  a  eys- 
tem  of  blood, — of  soul  murder :    it  put  out  the 


LONDON".  211 

•eyes  of  the  soul  ;  it  darkened,  and  covered  with 
•leprosy  and  disease,  the  already  depraved  facul- 
ties of  human  nature  ;  and  it  left  2,560,000  persons 
*-to  grope  their  way  through  darknes  and  degrada- 
tion here,  to  everlasting  darkness  beyond  the 
•grave.  [Cheers.]  It  had  been  confessed  by  ec- 
clesiastical authorities,  that  there  were  2,000,000 
«of  slaves  in  America  who  never  heard  the  name 
<of  Christ.  (Hear,  hear,)  Mr.  T.  then  entered 
into  a  number  of  details,  for  the  purpose  of  shelv- 
ing the  prejudice  which  was  entertained  in  Amer- 
ica against  free  persons  of  color.  What  was  the 
excuse  sometimes  made  for  that  prejudice  ?  'Oh, 
they  have  a  disagreeable  smcl!.'  (Laughter.) 
lie  (Mr.  T.)  could  never  detect  any  such  smell  ; 
and,  indeed,  it  was  never  found  that  they  did  have 
such  a  '  smell '  so  long  as  they  continued  slaves. 
(Hear.)  It  was  when  they  had  obtained  their 
freedom  that  the  '  smell '  was  perceived.  (Laugh- 
ter.) And  he  did  not  wondei  at  it;  for  nothing 
stunk  so  much  in  the  nostrils  of  a  tyrant  as  liber- 
ty !  (Loud  and  long  continued  cheering.)  When 
travelling  in  one  of  the  American  steamboats,  a 
.gentleman  and  lady  of  color  came  on  board  in 
their  carriage;  and  he  (Mr.  T.)  resolved  upon 
watching  the  mode  in  which  they  were  treated. 
When  tea  was  announced,  he  went  into  the 
cabin,  and  being  some  time  engaged  in  conver- 
sation with  an  individual  of  great  eminence,  Dr. 
Graham,  he  lost  sight  of  his  colored  compan- 
ions. About  seven  in  the  evening,  he  (Mr.  T.) 
went  upon  deck,  and  there  observed  the  lady 
seated  upon  a  heap  of  luggage,  her  husband 
standing  by  her  side  :  the  night  was  dark  and 
cold,  and  a  mist  descended  which  would  wet  any 
person  through  to  the  skin  in  an  hour.  He  (Mr. 
T.)  returned  to  the  cabin,  and  said  to  Dr.  Graham, 


212  meetin'g  at 

1  Come  on  deck,  Dr.  G.,  and  if  yon  have  a  blush 
for  your  country  let  me  see  it  now!'  (Cheers.) 
On  their  return  to  the  deck,  they  found  the  gen- 
tleman interceding  with  the  cook  to  allow  his 
lady  to  sit  in  the  kitchen,  as  he  feared  the  cok$ 
would  cause  her  death,  if  she  were  compelled  to- 
be  exposed  to  it  all  night !  (Hear,  hear,  and 
shame  I)  Dr.  G.  asked  the  gentleman  why  it 
wras  that  he  had  not  paid  for  his  passage  in  the 
cabin, — to  which  he  replied,  that  he  had  offered 
to  pay  for  it — that  the  captain  would  not  take  the 
money,  and  that  he  would  gladly  have  given 
twenty  times  the  fare,  that  he  might  obtain  that 
comfort  for  his  lady  !  fLoud  cries  of  '  Shame  I 
shame  \)  That  lady  was  obliged  to  continue  in- 
kitchen — the  most  disagreeable  place  on  board 
the  steam-vessel,  while  ministers  of  the  gospel,, 
lawyers,  merchant?,  were  lolling  upon  sofas  in  the 
cabin,  and  not  one  of  them  would  show  kindness- 
to  a  woman  under  such  circumstances.  That 
was  the  character  of  American  slavery,  and  yet 
a  mm  was  a  calumniator,  'because  he  called 
America  a  wicked  nation.'  ("Cheers. )  It  was 
the  prejudice  entertained  against  the  free  people 
of  color,  which  led  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Colonization  Society, which  had  been  based  upon 
prejudice,  which  made  its  appeal  to  prejudice,  but 
which  could  not  continue  to  exist,  the  abolition- 
ists having  shown  the  wickedness  of  that  preju- 
dice. The  effect  of  prejudice  against  the  color- 
ed population  had  been  to  crush  their  spirit; 
nevertheless,  he  (Mr.  T.J  had  found  among  them 
intellect  of  the  highest  order,  virtue  of  the  most 
resplendent  kind,  and  piety  as  sincere  and  fer- 
vent as  that  which  distinguished  the  wisest,  and 
best,  and  holiest  of  the  land.  If  a  white  man 
were  to  be   seen  shaking  hands  with  a  man  of 


LONDON.  213 

•color,hc  himself  would  never  be  respected  again  ; 
ifhe  took  his  arm  he  would  be  less  respected 
than  if  he  had  taken  the  arm  of  Beelzebub. 
(Liughter.J  There  was  no  justice  in  America 
for  the  colored  man.  If  he  knew  how  to  make 
a  bow  and  was  dressed  like  a  gentleman,  with  a 
■ring-  on  his  finger,  then, — '  how  proud  these  col- 
ored people  are  ! ' — If  he  did  not  dress  well, '  they 
are  degraded, — utterly  irreclaimable  ! '  If  he 
appeared  dejected,  'the  whole  race  is  sullen 
and  revengeful !  '  If  they  were  inclined  to  be 
cheerful,  'they  are  so  saucy  and  impudent!'' 
^LaughterJ  If  one  of  them  were  seen  intoxi- 
cated, then  the  whole  was  a  race  of  drunkards  ; 
if  one  were  to  be  found  dishonest,  they  were  all 
•called  thieves  :  if  one  was  slothful,  then  they 
uore  all  lazy  :  if  one  was  profane,  all  were  blas- 
phemers! fflear,  hear.j  'J  his  prejudice  even 
existed  in  religious  privileges  of  the  colored  peo- 
ple, and  also  deprived  them  of  their  political 
rights.  In  a  large  village  called  Salem,  i fa  colored 
man,  he  was  assured  on  good  authority,  took  a 
house  in  one  of  the  principal  streets,  the  value  of 
the  property  in  that  street  became  depreciated 
75  per  cent.  The  predecessor  of  Dr.  Sprague 
had  treated  the  colored  people  with  great  re- 
spect;  he  was  a  kind-hearted  man;  he  had  a 
considerable  number  of  colored  people  in  his  con- 
gregation, with  whom  he  lived  in  the  greatest 
cordiality;  and  they  were  exceedingly  attached 
to  him.  When  Dr.  Sprague  succeeded  to  the 
•pastoral  charge,  it  was  proposed  that  the  colored 
■people  should  be  placed  by  themselves,  m  here, 
it  was  said,  •  they  would  be  more  comfortable* 
Ten  pews  were  set  apart  for  them  in  the  gallery, 
*a  nice  comfortable  partition'  ran  along  this  por- 
tion of  the  chapol,  with  'a  nice  green  curtain  to 


214  MEETING    AT 

prevent  them  from  seeing  the  other  parts  of  the 
congregation.'  The  colored  people  remonstrated 
a  gainst  this  invidious  distinction,  but  it  was  vain. 
What  was  the  consequence  ?  Every  colored 
man,  woman,  and  child,  left  that  chapel  immedi- 
ately !  (L  >ud  cheers,) — and  there  was  not  at  this 
moment,  in  all  Dr.  S's  church,  one  colored  wor- 
shipper !  What  would  that  minister  be  able  to 
Bay  when  God  demanded  at  his  hand  these  pre- 
cious souls  with  whom  he  had  been  intrusted? 
("Hear,  hear. )  Theodore  S.  Wright,  a  minister  in 
New  York,  a  man  of  color,  had  increased  the 
numbers  of  his  church  from  17  to  376;  he  had 
given  $100  to  the  anti-slavery  cause,  but  having, 
in  conjunction  with  his  son,  to  travel  in  the  steam- 
boat from  New  York  to  Washington,  they  were 
compelled  to  remain  on  d^ck  during  the  voyage  ; 
indeed  they  were  not  allowed  to  pass  the  paddle- 
boxes  !  fCries  of  '  Shame  !  ')  The  avenues  to 
learning  had  been  closed  to  the  colored  people  ; 
but  he  (Mr.  T.)  rejoiced,  that  at  the  present  day 
there  were  four  colleges  open  for  them.  (Cheers.) 
Air.  Tappan  had  himself  given  820,000  to  a  col- 
lege on  the  express  condition  that  it  should  ad- 
mit colored  people  to  its  privileges  and  advanta- 
ges.  When  a  person  wished  to  join  an  antu 
slavery  society  in  America,  it  was  a  sine  qua  nan 
that  he  had  discharged  all  his  prejudice  against 
the  colored  population.     (Cheers. J 

One  word  with  regard  to  the  character  of  the  ab- 
olitionists of  America.  He  felt  astonished  at  the 
amount  of  mind  which  had  been  thrown  into  tbe 
cause.  William  Lloyd  Garrison  had  been  particu- 
larly active  and  prudent;  he  had  been  condemned  for 
havinsr  shot  a-head  with  seven-lea  ?ue  boots,  the 
superannuated  tortoise  speed  of  his  reverend 
brethren  around  him.  (Laughter./  That  hadj  how* 


LONDON.  215 

ever,  ever  been  the  reproach  of  reformers.  (Loud 
and  general  cheering.,)  The  question  of  Amer- 
ican Slavery  had  been  branded  as  a  political 
question,  not  only  by  the  enemies  of  freedom  in 
America,  but  from  some  whom  they  might  have 
expected  better  things.  ('Hear,  hear.,1  Mr.  T. 
then  read  an  extract  from  a  lecture  delivered  in 
connection  -.villi  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  together  with  the  constitution 
of  the  National  Society  of  New  York,  iti  order 
to  prove  that  there  was  nothing  pol.tieal  in  the 
objects  contemplated.  The  missionary  who  went 
from  this  country  to  any  foreign  land,  might  be 
said,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  interfere  with  the 
politics  of  that  country,  inasmuch  as  the  tendency 
of  Christianity  was  to  disturb  the  system  which 
there  prevailed.  To  brand  this  cause  as  a  polit- 
ical question  was  to  pronounce  a  censure  0:1  every 
missionary  who  ever  went  on  a  foreign  shore  to 
preach  the  gospel  of  Christ.  If  it  were  a  politi- 
cal question,  how  came  it  that  at  the  prcsentday 
the  churches  in  America  were  taking  up  the  sub- 
ject, and  fasting,  and  holding  prayer  meetings  in 
reference  to  it  ?  It  was  too  bad  for  a  man  to  go 
0,000  miles  to  brand  the  Anti-Slavery  Society  as 
politicians.  (Immense  cheering. )  Mr.  T.  was 
then  about  to  continue  his  narrative  relative  to 
the  conduct  of  Dr.  Cox  in  America,  when  it  was 
suggested  that  it  was  desirable  he  shuuld  take 
a  few  minutes'  rest. 

The  Chairman  expressed  a  wish,  that  the  ilcr- 
im  should  be  filled  up,  by  Mr.  M.  Roper's  stating 
some  facts  with  which  he  was  conversant. 

Considerable  opposition  was  made  to  this  sug- 
gestion. One  gentleman  exclaimed,  '  Mr.  Roper 
is  Dr.  Cox's  protege?     Another  gentleman  rosej 


£16  MEETiftc  At 

and  pertinaciously  persisted  in  attempting  to  ad-> 
dress  the  meeting. 

The  Chairman  reminded  him  of  the  remark* 
he  had  made  at  the  commencement  of  the  meet- 
ing ;  but  it  was  not  till  marks  of  disapprobation* 
and  cries  of  '  Turn  him  out,'  issued  from  every 
part  of  the  building,  that  he  resumed  his  seat. 

The  Rev.  A,  Fletcher,  stated  that  when  Mr.- 
Roper  was  brought  over  into  this  country,  he  earner 
with  a  letter  of  introduction  to  him,  and  had  since 
been  supported  by  some  other  ministers. 

A  Gentleman,  whose  name  we  could  not 
learn,  said,  that  Dr.  Cox  bore  a  part  in  the  ex- 
pense of  Mr.  Roper's  education.  (Hear,  hear, 
and  faint  applause.,) 

Mr.  Roter  then  stood  forward,  and  observed 
with  considerable  warmth,  that  Dr.  Cox  did  pay 
a  portion  towards  his  education,  but  that  should1 
not  hinder  him  from  advocating  the  cause  of  his 
mother,  brethren,  and  sisters,  now  in  bondage. 
(Loud  cheers.,)  lie  was  grateful  to  Dr.  Cox  for 
that  which  he  was  doimr  for  him  ;  but  at  the  same' 
time  his  principles  were  not  to  be  bought. 
(Cheers.,/  There  was  not  a  Christian  society  in 
America,  which  did  not  hold  slaves,  except  the 
Society  of  Friends.  (Cheers.,)  In  Salem,  a  town 
in  South  Carolina,  containing  perhaps  20,000 
Quakers,  there  was  not  a  single  slave,  though 
they  were  surrounded  by  a  slave  holding  popula- 
tion. (Cheer.-.,)  He  had  run  away  from  his  mas- 
ter, and  was  going  to  see  his  mother  in  North 
Carolina.  He  had  to  pass  through  the  town  of 
Salisbury,  where  there  was  a  Quaker  in  jail,  who 
was  to  be  executed  en  the  following  Friday,  for 


LONDOtf.  217 

having  given  a  slave  a  free  pass.  ('Shame, 
shame.')  Mr.  Thompson  had  given  them  an  ac- 
count of  some  bad  slaveholders  ;  he  (Mr.  R.) 
would  tell  them  of  some  good  ones.  A  master 
with  whom  he  once  lived,  Mr.  Beveridge,in  trav- 
elling from  Apalache  to  Columbia,  having  to  pass 
through  the  Indian  nations,  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  take  arms.  He  was  taken  exceedingly 
ill,  and  could  neither  stand  up  nor  sit  down.  He 
had  a  trunk  with  him  containing  $20,000,  and  he 
(Mr.  R.)  took  the  pistols  and  protected  his  mas- 
ter and  his  master's  property.  When  he  arrived 
at  Columbia,  his  master  becoming  embarrassed 
in  circumstances,  sold  him  on  a  block  ;  that  was 
his  kindness  to  him,  (Mr.  R.)  for  saving  his  mas- 
ter's life  and  protecting  his  property.  Another 
good  master,  was  Colonel  M'Gillon,  a  Scotchman, 
who  held  about  300  slaves,  and  who  used  to  boast 
that  he  never  flogged  them.  His  mode  of  pun- 
ishing them,  was  to  get  a  rice  hogshead,  info 
which  several  nails  were  driven  about  a  quarter 
of  an  incli  through,  and  the  slave  then  being 
fastened  in,  he  used  to  roll  them  down  a  very 
steep  hill.  ('Shame,  shame.')  At  one  of  the 
revival  meetings,  of  which  he  had  heard  so  much 
since  he  came  to  this  country,  two  ladies  of  color 
came  in  and  took  their  seats  in  the  pew  for  in- 
quirers. Holding  down  their  heads  they  were- 
not  observed  ;  but  some  ladies  coming  in,  and 
noticing  their  color,  left  the  pew  directly.  (Hear, 
hear.) 

Mr.  Thompson  thon  resumed  his  lecture.  It 
might  be  asked  by  some,  why  he  made  this  a  per- 
sonal question  ?  Why  he  did  not  content  him- 
self by  merely  bringing  forward  the  subject  of 
American  Slavery,  without  alluding  to  any  indi- 
19 


£13  MEETING    At 

viduals,  or  any  denomination  ?  His  answer  to 
that  was,  that  he  held  in  his  hand  a  book,  [The 
Baptists  in  America]  containing  from  rive  to  six 
hundred  pages,  in  the  beginning,  the  middle,  and 
the  latter  end  of  which  he  (Air.  T.)  was  most 
grossly  injured  ;  in  which  he  was  charged  with 
having  calumniated  great  and  good  men  in  Amer- 
ica, and  with  '  rolling  back  the  cause  '  by  his  '  un- 
measured vituperations,'  by  his  '  exasperating  ex* 
pressions,'  and  in  a  variety  of  other  ways.  Jn 
which  book  he  was  charged  with  gross  injustice, 
fur  having,  at  a  public  meeting  in  New  York, 
thought  fit  to  denounce  a  countryman  of  his  own. 
He  was  told  on  a  certain  occasion,  that  the  wri- 
ter would  '  spare  him,'  and  it  had  been  said,  that 
he  (Mr.  T.J  manifested  considerable  irritability 
when  that  expression  was  used.  '  Sir,'  said  Mr. 
T.  'I  manifested  no  more  then,  than  I  manifest 
now,  and  which  I  shall  continue  to  manifest,  a 
just  indignation.  (Cheers.)  When  any  individ- 
ual tells  George  Thompson,  who  has  put  iiis  life 
into  his  hands,  and  who  has  gone  where  slavery 
is  rife;  when  I,  George  Thompson,  am  told  that 
I  am  to  be  'spared,' — in  a  book  written  by  a 
man,  who  deserted,  in  the  hour  of  danger,  the 
cause  lie  was  pledged  to  support  !  (Loud  cheers.) 
I  say  to  my  foes,  '  Come  on!  a  fair  stage  and 
no  favor!  '  (Immense  cheering.)  '  Come  on  to 
do  anything  but  spare  me!'  (Deafening  ap- 
plause.) '  Spare  me  !  '  I  ask  not  to  be  spared  ! 
I  ask  for  justice  to  my  cause  !  I  take  up  this 
cause  on  public  grounds.  Were  I  not  a  public 
man,  these  things  might  pass  by  as  idle  tal^s. 
But  when,  in  this  book,  and  elsewhere,  I  am 
branded  as  '  a  calumniator  ; '  when  it  is  asserted, 
through  that  book,  that  I  have  '  rolled  back  the 
cause'  to  an  'almost  irretrievable    distance,' in 


LONDON.  219 

America,  T  am  called  upon  to  take  this  book  and 
redeem  myself,  as  a  public  advocate  of  a  public 
cause,  from  every  charge  which  directly  or  indi- 
rectly affects  my  reputation  or  character  as  a 
qualified  agent  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Society. 
(Loud  cheers.)  But  what  right  had  they  to  expect 
that  Dr.  Cox  would  advocate  the  cause  of  eman- 
cipation in  America  ?  Dr.  Cox  had,  before  he 
went  ont,  said,  in  the  presence  of  gentlemen, 
who  were  now  present  '  I  go  in  the  spirit  of  u 
martyr.'  What  was  the  spirit  of  a  martyr ?  It 
was  not  the  spirit  of  compromise — it  was  not 
the  spirit  of  silence — it  was  not  the  spirit  of 
timidity.  (Loud  cheers.)  What  was  the  spirit 
of  a  martyr?  It  was  the  spirit  displayed  by 
Luther,  by  Cranmer,  by  Paul,  and  the  Lord  and 
Maker  of  them  all!  (Loud  cheers.)  Was  Dr. 
Cox  called  upon  to  advocate  the  anti-slavery 
cause  ?  He  was.  No  man  ever  crossed  the  At- 
lantic, on  any  mission,  more  pledged  to  advocate 
the  cause  than  was  Dr.  Cox.  He  would  quote  a 
letter  contained  in  the  Baptist  Magazine  for  the 
month  of  November,  1834,  which  had  been  sent 
forth  by  the  Baptist  Union,  from  whom  that  gen- 
tleman went,  to  various  churches,  calling  upon 
them  for  pecuniary  aid  to  support  that  mission  : 

«  But  whilst  we  admire  their  vigorous  efforts  for  the 
spread  of  the  gospel,  and  those  free  institutions  under 
whose  influences  those  exertions  have  been  made,  we  do 
not  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact,  that  in  this  land  of  libertv, 
negro  slavery  is  legalized,  and  is  Buffered  to  remain  a  find 
blot  <>n  their  national  character.  It  is,  perhaps,  within 
your  recollection,  that  at  the  commencement  of  last  win- 
ter, the  Baptist  Board  in  London,  sent  to  their  brethren 
a  memorial  on  this  subject,  which  they  requested  mi^ln  be 
laid  before  the  Triennial  Convention.  To  what  extent 
the  brethren  thus  memorialized  are  partakers  of  this  na- 
tiunul  sin,  we  are  utterly  ignorant.     We  are  qlad  to  feat  H 


220  MEETING  AT 

that  the  voice  of  many  of  them  is  lifted  up  against  it,  and 
-we  send  our  deputation  to  promote  most  zealously,  and  to 
the  utmost  of  their  ability,  in  the  spirit  of  love,  of  discre- 
tion, and  of  fidelity,  but  still  most  zealously,  to  promote 
the  sacred  cause  of  negro  emancipation.' 

What  was  the  conduct  of  one  of  that  deputa- 
tion ?  The  business  of  the  Triennial  Convention 
was  done,  and  the  deputation  returned  to  New 
York  ;  one  of  them  was  respectfully  invited  .to 
attend  the  anti-slavery  meeting  to  be  held  in  that 
city,  to  mingle  with  men  with  whom  it  was  an 
riionor  to  be  associated — nature's  nobles  (cheers  ;) 
and  how  did  he  reply  ?  While  he  wished  the 
honor  of  being  an  abolitionist,  he  shunned  the 
.work.  He  stated  that  he  was  with  the. meeting 
in  heart,  but  that  he  did  not  go  because  of  the 
political  bearings  of  the  question.  (Applause.) 
And  what  did  he  do  then?  Having  written  a 
brief  apology,  he  went  back  to  a  most  appropri- 
ate meeting  for  a  gentleman  who  had  resolved 
to  be  dumb  on  negro  slavery.  Where  did  Dr. 
Cox  go  to  ?  He  had  said,  '  Having  written  this 
brief  apology  to  the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  I 
went  to  the  meeting  for  the  deaf  and  the  dumb:' 
(Laughter,  and  loud  cheers.)  A  very  fit  subject 
for  the  benevolent  operations  of  that  Society-; 
would  that  they  had  cured  him.  (Laughter,  and 
great  applause.)  The  doctor  went  from  New 
York  to  Boston,  and  was  again  invited  to  attend 
an  Anti-Slavery  Convetion  there,  but  again  de- 
clined. He  would  now  come  to  a  particular  part  of 
tthe  narrative,  to  which  he  begged  the  special  at 
tention  of  his  friends.  The  doctor  would  not 
open  his  lips  in  the  Triennial  Convention  of 
Richmond,  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  though  it  was 
expected  by  the  ministers  in  the  slaveholding 
States  that  he  would  bring  forward  that  subject. 


LONDON.  221 

The  doctor  assigned  as  his  reason,  that  if  he  had 
opened  his  lips  on  that  subject,  one  of  two  things 
would  have  happened.  The  Convention  would 
have  been  broken  up  by  magisterial  interference, 
or  his  brethren  would  have  spontaneously  with- 
drawn. The  doctor  gave  the  most  glowing  des- 
cription of  the  heavenly  state  of  the  atmosphere 
in  which  he  breathed  in  that  Convention.  At 
page  49  of  his  book,  he  said,  when  speaking  of 
the  Convention,  '  If  doubts  had  arisen  in  any 
mmds  as  to  the  course  the  deputation  from  Eng- 
land intended  to  pursue,  in  their  public  intercourse 
with  their  brethren,  with  respect  to  subjects  of 
vital  importance,' — that  was  to  say,  if  any  num- 
ber of  individuals  belonging  to  the  Convention 
expected  that  the  doctor  or  his  colleague  would 
have  introduced  the  agitating  question  respect- 
ing the  negroes  and  people  of  color — '  It  was  only 
like  the  cloud  ofa  summer  morning,  which  speed- 
ily disappeared  in  the  brightening  sunshine.' 
How  did  they  remove  those  doubts?  Certainly 
not  by  speaking  out.  So  soon  as  the  Convention 
were  convinced  that  their  clerical  brethren  meant 
to  be  deaf  and  dumb,  then  every  cloud  passed 
away,  and  all  was  cordiality  and  union.  (Cheers.) 
What  was  to  be  thought  of  such  an  union  as 
that  ?     (Hear,  hear.) 

From  Boston  the  doctor  proceeded  to  New 
Hampshire,  and  amongst  the  green  hills  a  meet- 
ing of  free-will  Baptists  was  held.  They  were 
almost  all  abolitionists;  an  anti-slavery  meeting 
was  held,  there  was  no  fear  of  a  jacket  of  tar  and 
feathers,  and  there  Dr.  Cox  supported  a  resolu- 
tion, the  preamble  of  which  ran  thus: — 'Where- 
as the  system  of  slavery  is  contrary  to  the  law  of 
nature  and  the  law  of  God,  and  is  a  violation  of 
the  dearest  rights  of  man,  resolved,  that  the  prin- 
19* 


2*22  "MEETING  AT 

ciples  of  immediate  abolition  are  derived  from 
the  unerring  Word  of  God,  and  that  no  political 
circumstances  whatever  can  exonerate  Christians 
from  exerting  all  their  moral  influence  for  the 
suppression  of  this  heinous  sin.'  That  utterly 
annihilated  his  own  letter  in  New  York,  and  he 
[Mr.  T.]  had  some  reason  to  believe  that  the 
word  political,  was  introduced  as  a  reproof  to  the 
doctor.  The  doctor  had  assigned  three  totally 
different  reasons  for  not  attending  the  meeting, 
and  his  friends  assigned  a  fourth.  He  had  said 
that  he  did  not  attend  at  New  York  on  account 
of  the  political  bearing  of  the  question,  with 
which,  as  a  stranger,  a  foreigner,  a  visitor,  he 
could  not  attempt  to  intermeddle.  There  the 
'doctor  made  a  grand  attack  upon  him  [Mr.'T.] — 
there  he  set  the  mob  upon  him  [cries  of  Shame,] 
and  justified  all  they  had  ever  said  about  his  be- 
ing an  intermeddler.  (Loud  applause.)  The  very 
vilest  pi  pers  in  the  Union  had  announced,  on  the 
12th  of  May,  that  Dr.  Cox  would  be  at  the  anti- 
slavery  meeting;  and  he  (Mr.  Thompson)  wish- 
ed it  to  be  known  that  it  was  only  in  the  opposi- 
tion papers,  and  not  in  those  favorable  to  aboli- 
tion, that  the  doctor's  presence  at  the  meeting 
had  been  announced.  They  said  that  he  could 
not  help  being  there,  and  yet  he  did  help  it.  (A 
laugh.)  In  New  Hampshire  the  doctor  assigned 
a  totally  different  reason,  and  said,  that  it  appear- 
ed that  he  could  do  more  good  in  a  private  way. 
In  his  book,  he  said  he  did  not  go  because  he 
should  have  been  obliged  to  have  spoken  with 
disapprobation  of  the  measures  of  the  anti-slave- 
ry agent,  and  therefore  he  did  not  go.  His 
friends  assigned  a  fourth  reason,  and  said  he  did 
not  speak  upon  the  question  because  he  was  not 
-sent  there  for  that  purpose,  and  because  if  he  had 


LONDON.  223 

spoken  he  would  have  compromised  the  object 
which  he  went  especially  to  promote.  He  (Mr. 
T.)  would  like  to  know  how  these  four  reasons 
could  be  blended  into  one,  and  made  a  sufficient 
reason  for  Dr.  Cox's  non-attendance.  But  why 
did  he  mention  those  circumstances?  In  order 
to  justify  himself  from  the  vile  calumnies  which 
the  Dr's.  book  cast  upon  him.  If  he  had  not 
i been  honest  to  Dr.  Cox,  would  there  have  been  a 
single  impugning  of  his  (Mr.  T's)  measures  ?  He 
trowed  not.  If  Dr.  Cox  believed  that  he  was 
*  rolling  back  the  cause,'  it  was  his  duty  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Committee  which  sent  him  out  to  write 
home  to  that  effect ;  it  was  his  duty  as  a  minister 
of  Christ,  as  a  man,  and  as  a  countryman,  to  have 
taken  him  aside,  and  told  him  of  his  faults.  It 
was  still  more  his  (Dr.  Cox's)  duty,  when  he  (Mr. 
T.)  faced  him  before  the  Committee,  to  call  for 
an  explanation  of  his  conduct.  He  had  the  best 
.reason  for  pledging  himself  in  America  on  behalf 
of  Dr.  Cox  before  he  arrived,  and  it  was  his  duty 
to  denounce  him  as  an  abolitionist  when  he  did 
not  attend  the  meeting.  (Cheers.)  Why  should 
Dr.  Cox  have  been  at  the  Anti-Slavery  Meeting  ? 
Because  he  was  a  member  of  the  British  and  For- 
eign Society  for  the  extinction  of  slavery  and  the 
slave  trade  throughout  the  world  ;  because  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  and 
the  Baptist  churches  throughout  the  land  had 
been  told  that  he  was  sent  with  all  fidelity  to 
promote  the  sacred  cause  of  negro  emancipation  ; 
because  he  had  solemnly  pledged  himself  to  dr> 
all  that  he  could,  and  had  said,  in  the  presence  of 
his  ministerial  brethren,  that  he  was  prepared  to 
go  to  the  prison  and  to  the  gallows  in  the  cause. 
He  should  have  gone — because  he  was  a  man, 
And  because  he  owed  it  to  mankind  to  be  there. 


224  MEETING    AT 

(Applause.)  He  should  have  gone  because  he 
was  a  Christian  minister,  and  it  was  his  duty  to 
rebuke  the  crying  abomination  of  the  land.  To 
take  a  journey  of  3,000  miles  to  say,  •  How  do 
you  do?  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you;  very  nice 
wine  ;  very  nice  mutton— [loud  laughter] — and 
not  to  say  a  word  on  behalf  of  the  bleeding,  suf- 
fering, oppressed  slave,  lest  the  heavenly-mind- 
edness  of  the  meeting  should  be  destroyed  ! 
(Cheers.)  'Heavenly-mindedness  !'  (said  Mr.  T.) 
O  that  I  could  have  brought  all  the  chains  and 
whips  in  the  United  States  around  that  ecclesias- 
tical convention,  and  made  them  echo  and  rattle 
in  the  ears  of  that  'heavenly-minded'  assembly. 
(Loud  and  long  continued  cheers.)  Harmony! — 
harmony  in  sin.  (Hear,  hear.)  Harmony  1 — har- 
mony depending  upon  silence  in  behalf  of  God's 
poor.  (Hear,  hear.)  Harmony  and  union  ! — a 
union  for  each  other's  destruction.  Had  Dr.  Cox 
gone  to  the  meeting,  laid  his  letter  on  the  table, 
commenced  an  affectionate  and  faithful  address 
upon  the  subject,  and  had  he  been  checked,  and 
gagged,  and  dismissed  in  the  middle  of  the  first 
sentence,  he  would  have  returned  to  this  country 
with  honor.  (Immense  cheering.)  He  called 
upon  the  people  of  England  to  set  their  face 
henceforth  and  for  ever,  against  any  man,  no  mat- 
ter what  his  station  or  his  talent,  unless  they 
knew  that  he  would  unflinchingly  lift  up  his  voice 
for  the  oppressed.  (Cheers.)  It  should  not  lie 
owing  to  his  negligence  if  either  the  Congrega- 
tionalists  or  the  Baptists  ever  sent  out  a  tempori- 
zing deputation  to  America  again.  Dr.  Cox  had 
said  that  he  had  already  stated  his  opinions  on  the 
subject  in  England,  and  that  they  had  reached 
America.  They  were  or  they  were  not  known 
there.     If  they  were  known  already,  he  had  tlia 


LONDON.  225 

more  reason  to  be  at  the  meeting,  to  maintain  his 
character  as  an  anti-slavery  man.  On  the  12th 
of  May  Dr.  Cox  and  himself  v/ere  coupled  in  the 
New  York  Inquirer,  and  the  editor  recommended 
the  citizens  to  give  them  a  jacket  of  tar  and 
feathers;  and  on  the  13th  out  came  the  same  pa- 
per, with  two  columns — one  column  with  the  vi- 
lest abuse  ever  penned,  levelled  at  his  (Mr.  T's} 
devoted  head;  and  the  other,  the  most  fulsome 
compliments  ever  bestowed  on  an  individual.  It 
was  his  (Mr.  T's)  honor  to  have  the  calumnies; 
it  was  Dr.  Cox's  to  have  the  compliments. 
(Cheers.)  How  did  he  know  that  Dr.  Cox  had 
served  the  cause  of  slavery  ?  Because  he  was 
praised  by  every  pro-slavery  paper  in  America. 
(Hear,  hear.)  How  did  he  know  that  Dr.  ,Reed 
had  served  the  cause  ?  Because  his  book  had 
been  quoted  by  all  the  pro-slavery  papers  in  that 
country.  The  vilest  pro-slavery  papers  had  sung 
Dr.  Cox's  praises  throughout  the  land.  Why 
should  Dr.  Cox  have  been  at  the  meeting?  Be- 
cause the  abolitionists  of  America  wore  the 
weaker  party,  and  it  would  have  been  magnani- 
mous to  have  been  there.  (Hear,  hear.)  Dr.  Cox 
said  very  significantly,  in  one  part  of  his  book, 
'  I  found  scarcely  any  of  the  influential  Baptist 
friends  abolitionists.'  He  (Mr.  T.)  had  no  doubt 
that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  meaning  there.  It 
was  common  of  old  to  put  this  question— -'  Have 
any  of  the  rulers  believed  on  him?'  (Cheers. 
Very  much  on  a  par  with  them  was  the  quotation 
from  Dr.  Cox.  Had  he  found  many  of  the  influ- 
ential Baptists  among  the  abolitionists,  no  doubt 
he  would  have  found  himself  there.  (Cheers.)  But 
during  the  whole  time  that  he  was  in  the  United 
States  lie  never  identified  himself  with  them, 
But  he  did  more.     After  havimr  declined  to  be  at 


226  MEETING  AT 

the  meeting  at  New  York  and  at  Boston,  and  had 
supported  the  resolution  which  he  (Mr.  T.)  hud 
read,  Ire  (Dr.  Cox)  came  down  to  Boston,  the  pro- 
slavery  party  in  that  city  got  up  a  requisition  to 
the  Mayor  for  a  meeting  to  traduce  the  abolition- 
ists, and  the  most  vHe  elements  in  the  city  were 
put  in  motion.  On  the  day  the  meeting  -was  f 
be  held  the  leading  abolitionists  were  marked 
out  for  destruction,  and  were  obliged  to  leave  the 
city  with  their  wives  and  children,  believing  that 
the  speeches  made  on  that  day  would  lead  to  the 
destruction  of  their  houses  at  night.  And  wbo> 
sat  on  the  right  hand  of  the  chairman  while  the 
speeches  were  made?  Dr.  Cox.  (Loud  cries  of 
''Shame,'  and  hisses.)  Mr.  Thompson  inquired 
whether  those  marks  of  disapprobation  were  di- 
rected against  the  actor  against  him  (Mr.  T.?) 
(Cries  of '  The  act/> 

Ttie  Ret.  Geo.  Evans  inquired  on  what  au- 
thority Mr.  Thompson  made  that  statement? 

Mr.  Thompson  replied, — the  book  published 
by  Dr.  Cox,  in  his  account  of  the  meeting  at  Fan- 
ueil  Hall.  While  Dr.  Cox  was  sitting  at  Lb* 
right  hand  of  the  chairman,  the  Hon.  Peleg 
Sprague  rose  and  made  a  speech.  The  'vittpe- 
ration'  which  he  (Mr.  T.)  had  poured  out  on  Dr. 
Cox  was  compliment  compared  with  the  venom 
which  he  (Mr.  S.)  spewed  forth  upon  our  common 
country.  Dr.  Cox  sat  by  the  side  of  the  chair- 
man ;  '  but  would  I,'  said  Mr.  Thompson,  'have 
sat  and  heard  it  ?  '  (Immense  cheers.)  No:  but 
I  do  not  wonder  that  the  man  who  dare  not  plead 
the  cause  of  the  poor  slave,  dare  not  defend  his 
country.  (Long-continued  cheering.)  The  Hon. 
Mr.  Sprague,  in  the   presence  of  (he  venerable 


London.  \M7 

author,  Dr.  Cox  (a  laugh,)  pointed,  in  the  course 
of"  his  speech,  to  the  portrait  of  General  Wash- 
ington, for  the  purpose  of  sanctioning  slavehold- 
ing.  Dr.  Cox  was  there,  but  he  was  not  at  the 
anti-slavery  meeting  in  New  York.  Why  he 
(Mr.  T.)  had  been  calumniated  in  that  book,  was, 
because  he  had  had  the  faithfulness,  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,  to  denounce  that  conduct.  Was  he 
sorry  for  it?  No;  he  would  repeat  it  again  that 
night.  If  a  man  could  be  eloquent  on  this  bide 
of  the  water — if  in  Finsbury  Chapel  or  Exeter 
Hall,  and  amid  admiring  and  applauding  breth- 
ren, 3,000  miles  from  the  scene  of  slavery,  he 
■could  eloquently  denounce  the  system,  and  when 
he  crossed  to  the  shores  where  it  was  found, 
could  desert  the  cause,  lie  would  desert  him  as  a 
coadjutor  in  the  cause  of  abolition.  {Immense 
cheering.)  Mr.  Tnompson  compared  the  conduct 
of  Dr.  Cox  with  that  of  a  director  of  a  Mission- 
ary Society  going  to  visit  a  Missionary  station, 
and  when  he  arrived,  being  apprised  of  a  Mis- 
sionary meeting  to  be  held  there,  but  refusing  to 
attend  it  because  he  was  not  expressly  sent  out 
for  that  purpose.  He  might  go  over  overcharg- 
es, but  he  would  not  do  so.  lie  would  leave  the 
Christian  world  to  judge  between  himself  and 
Dr.  Cox.  He  would  rather  have  broached  this 
subject  auy  where  than  at  a  public  meeting,  bo- 
cause  he  did  not  wish  to  make  it  a  matter  of  pub- 
lic animadversion.  But  Dr.  Cox  had  made  et 
frtrlc  statements  of  a  most  injurious  character, 
[e  (Dr.  C.)  had  put  on  record  on  the  committee 
books  statements  which  he  (Mr.  T.)  hud  been 
obliged  to  contradict  in  tola.  In  fact,  lie  was 
charged  with  rolling  leick  the  cause;  and  there- 
fore he  owed  it.  to  the  friends  of  England,  Scot- 
land, and  Ireland,  who  were  looking  with  intense 


228  MEETING  AT 

anxiety  to  every  thing  that  was  said  and  done  on 
this  subject,  to  vindicate  his  character,  on  public 
grounds,  from  every  thing  contained  in  Dr.  Cox's 
book.     (Cheers.) 

He  must  notice  one  statement  utterly  at  vari- 
ance with  the  fact.  In  a  letter  which  Dr.  Cox 
had  published  in  the  Patriot  of  Wednesday  last, 
he  made  the  unqualified  assertion,  that  he  (Mr. 
T.)  was  sent  forth  by  three  individuals.  What 
effect  was  that  likely  to  produce  in  America  be- 
fore he  could  send  his  voice  thither  to  counter- 
act it?  It  would  be  said  that  he  (Mr.  T.,)  who^ 
had  stated  that  he  represented  thousands  in  Scot- 
land and  London,  had,  after  all,  been  sent  forth 
by  three  individuals  only.  What  was  the  fact  ? 
It  was  his  honor  in  1830,  to  become  the  agent  of 
the  Agency  Anti-Slavery  Society,  and  from  that 
hour  to  the  present  moment,  his  connection  with 
that  Society  had  never  been  dissolved.  (Loud 
cheers.) 

He  was  present  when  the  Society  took  its  new 
name  ;  there  was  a  full  committee,  and  it  was 
then  that  his  mission  was  decided  upon,  and  an 
appeal  was  made  to  the  public  on  the  ground  of 
that  mission.  How  was  it,  then,  that  Dr.  Cox 
said,  that  he  was  sent  by  three  individuals? 
There  was  a  little  truth  in  it,  and  it  was  but  a 
little.  Several  meetings  of  the  committee  were 
held,  and  were  fully  attendedrand  at  last  he  left 
London,  visited  Scotland,  and  then  went  to  Liver- 
pool for  the  purpose  of  embarking  for  America. 
At  that  juncture,  news  reached  his  country,  that 
there  had  been  serious  riots  in  New  York;  that 
the  house  of  Mr.  Tappan  had  been  sacked,  and 
the  furniture  burned  by  the  mob,  and  that  the  col- 
ored people  had  been  persecuted  to  an  unequal- 
led extent.     (Hear,  hear.)    Several  of  the  com- 


LONDON.  229 

mittee  deemed  it  advisable  to  send  him  special 
instructions,  and  to  put  him  on  his  guard  against 
mixing  himself  up  with  any  party  in  America.  A 
special  committee  was  summoned,  but,  from  the 
shortness  of  the  notice,  and  the  pressing  engage- 
ments of  the  members,  only  a  quorum  were  able 
to  attend,  and  they  sent  special  instructions  by 
Mr.  Scoble,  that  they  might  be  certain  of  reach- 
ing him.  Dr.  Cox,  on  the  day  on  which  he 
wrote  the  letter  to  the  Patriot,  examined  the  min- 
ute book,  saw  that  meeting  after  meeting  had 
been  held,  that  this  was  the  last  prior  to  his  de- 
parture, and  then  he  wrote  the  unqualified  asser- 
tion that  he  was  sent  by  three  persons.  [Cries 
of 'Shame.']  He  could  appeal  to  those  in  that 
assembly,  whether  he  had  not  been  sent  by  3,000 
ay,  by  30,000.  He  had  been  travelling  for  six 
months  in  England  and  Scotland,  and  wherever 
he  had  gone,  he  had  been  freighted  with  the 
blessings  and  the  confidence  of  the  abolitionists  ; 
and  then  America  was  told,  through  the  medium 
of  the  Patriot,  that  he  had  been  sent  forth  by 
three  individuals.  He  would  ask,  was  it  just? — 
was  it  truth  ?  [Cries  of 'No,  no.']  Was  it  Chris- 
tianity ?  [Cries  of  '  No,  no.']  Here  was  an  act 
calculated  to  injure  a  man  in  his  dearest  place — 
in  his  reputation.  What  should  he  call  it?  '  Do 
not,' said  Mr.  T.  '  let  us  call  it  at  all.  Let  us 
hope  that  he  will  repent  and  acknowledge  it, 
and  I  will  be  the  first  to  say  then,  what  I  say 
now,  but  with  still  greater  emphasis — I  freely 
forgive  you.'  [Loud  and  long  continued  cheer- 
ing.] There  was  another  assertion  of  Dr.  Cox'g 
to  which  he  must  advert.  He  stated  in  the  Pat- 
riot, (and  he — Mr.  T. — answered  it  because  it 
was  there,) '  I  was  in  the  chair  when  Mr.  Thomp- 
son was  giving  in  his  report,  by  a  kind  of  com- 
22 


230  MEETING  AT 

pulsion.'  What  would  the  assembly  think  when 
he  [Mr.  T.]  told  them,  that  Dr.  Cox  was  invited 
to  take  the  chair  in  the  committee  while  some  pro 
forma  business  was  gone  through,  and  that  the 
moment  it  was  done,  the  Dr.  stated  that  he  had  a 
question  of  privilege  to  bring-  forward?  The 
Secretary  said,  that  as  the  Dr.  was  going  to  bring 
on  a  question  of  privilege,  he  should  quit  the 
chair.  The  Dr.  chose  to  remain  in  it.  His  words 
were — 'I  think  I  can  accomplish  the  business  I 
have  to  do,  and  retain  the  chair.'  As  the  ques- 
tion referred  to  some  harsh  expressions  used  by 
a  certain  individual  in  a  letter  on  Dr.  Cox,  the 
person  who  was  implicated  rose  and  said,  'Do 
you  mean  rae  to  reply  to  the  statement  you  are 
making  ?  '  Dr.  Cox  replied  in  the  affirmative. 
And  then  the  individual  suggested  the  necessity 
of  the  Dr.  leaving  the  chair,  that  they  might  stand 
on  equal  terms,  and  submit  the  whole  matter  to 
the  committee.  But  Dr.  Cox,  in  the  face  of  all 
delicacy  and  good  feeling,  persisted  in  keeping 
the  chair.  ['  Shame,  shame.']  Yet  Dr.  Cox,  in  re- 
plying to  his  [Mr.  T's]  statements,  said  he  had 
few  opportunities  of  investigating  his  conduct, 
because  he  was  in  the  chair  by  a  kind  of  compul- 
sion. It  was  indeed  'a  kind  of  compulsion.'  He 
[Mr.  T.]  should  rather  be  inclined  to  call  it  're- 
pulsion.' [Loud  laughter  and  cheers.]  Mr.  T. 
then  pressed  upon  the  audience  that  a  great  work 
remained  yet  to  be  accomplished.  He  had  lately 
called  upon  Daniel  O'Connell,  Esq.,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  introducing  to  him  a  gentleman  from 
America.  Mr.  O'Connell  said  he  had  made  it 
a  rule  never  to  see  any  person  from  that  country 
who  was  not  a  member  of  the  Anti-Slave- 
ry Society.  [Immense  cheering.]  But  in  this 
case,  when  he   found  who  attended  the  gentle- 


LONDON.  331 

man,  [Mr.  Thompson,]  he  at  once  admitted  him, 
remarking  that  he  knew  what  kind  of  man  he  was 
from  the  company  he  kept.  [Laughter  and 
cheers.]  Mr.  O'Connell  had  informed  him  [Mr. 
T.]  that  the  present  Archbishop  of  Charleston 
was  a  particular  friend  of  his,  and  a  gentleman 
from  that  country  had  lately  called  upon  him  [Mr. 
O'C]  with  an  introduction  from  his  friend.  But 
finding  that  he  was  a  slaveholder,  he  refused  to 
see  him.  [Deafening  applause.]  Not  even  an 
introduction  from  the  Archbishop  of  Charleston 
would  introduce  a  slaveholder  to  the  hand,  the 
heart,  the  hearth  of  Daniel  O'Connell.  [Reiter- 
ated cheers.]  In  conclusion,  Mr.  T.  remarked, 
that  if  Dr.  Cox  would  express  his  regret  at  the 
statements  he  had  made,  if  a  second  edition  of 
his  work  should  be  called  for,  and  he  would  ex- 
punge the  attacks  which  had  been  made  upon  his 
character,  and  confess  that  he  had  been  in  error, 
he  [Mr.  T.]  should  be  glad,  as  Dr.  Cox  could  be 
desirous  he  should  be,  to  give  him  the  benefit  of 
any  explanation,  any  concession,  any  contradic- 
tion of  the  statements  which  he  might  choose  to 
make.  But  until  that,  he  should  feel  it  his  duty 
to  take  that  book  wherever  he  went,  to  counter- 
act its  influence,  and  justify  his  own  measures. 
[Loud  cheers.] 

E.  Baldwin,  Esq.  said,  he  felt  it  due  to  Mr. 
Thompson,  that  the  meeting  should  express  their 
opinion  with  regard  to  that  gentleman's  conduct 
in  America.  Without  further  preface  he  should 
therefore  move — 

'That  having  heard  Mr.  Thompson's  justifica- 
tion of  the  course  he  pursued  in  America,  this 
meeting  is  decidedly  of  opinion,  that,  in  the  per- 
ilous position  in  which  he  was  placed,  and  under 


132  MEETING    AT 

the  circumstances  of  great  difficulty  and  trial,  he 
fulfilled  his  duty  as  a  man  and  a  Chrislian,  and  is 
deserving  the  commendation  of  every  friend  of 
humanity.' 

Judge  Jeremy,  in  seconding  the  resolution, 
bore  his  testimony  to  the  able  exertions  of  Mr. 
Thompson  in  promoting  the  cause  in  which  he 
was  engaged,  and  to  the  courageous  manner  in 
which  he  had  advocated  those  principles  which 
he  had  ever  maintained.  He  approved  of  the 
resolution  on  this  account,  and  also  fur  another 
reason, — that  while  it  vindicated  his  friend  [Mr. 
T.]  from  the  imputations  which  had  been  cast 
upon  him,  it  threw  aspersions  on  no  other  party. 

The  resolution  was  then  put,  and  carried  by 
acclamation. 

Mr.  Thompson  briefly  acknowledged  the  com- 
pliment, and  avowed  his  determination  to  perse- 
vere in  his  efforts  in  this  cause  while  God  should 
continue  his  life  and  strength. 

The  Rev.  George  Evans  moved,  and  thp  Rev. 
T.  Price  seconded  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Chair- 
man. 

The  Chairmak  returned  thanks,  and  the  meet- 
ing separated. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE 
LONDON  PATRIOT. 


Sir, — I  wish,  through  you,  to  intimate  to  the  British 
public  my  deep  conviction,  in  concurrence  with  that  of 
many  others,  that  Mr.  Thompson's  procedure,  in  holding 
meetings  under  the  name  of  'Anti-Slavery  Lectures,'  for 
the  purpose  of  attacking  my  conduct  in  America,  and  the 
publication  I  and  my  colleague  have  issued,  is  a  most  im- 
pertinent interference,  and  a  mean  attempt  to  prejudice 
the  public  mind.  The  platform  may  suit  a  mob  orator, 
and  his  self-degrading  ahettors,  hut  truth  and  character 
will  ultimately  prevail.  As  the  statements  that  have  been 
given  may  probably  (in  part  at  least)  pervade  some  of 
your  pages,  and  as  I  did  not  choose  to  come  down  to  the 
level  of  meetings  so  convened,  I  beg  to  assure  my  friends, 
who  may  see  uncontradicted  and  untenable  representa- 
tions, to  keep  in  view  that  at  the  proper  time,  and  by  the 
proper  medium — the  press,  I  pledge  myself  to  the  refuta- 
tion of  the  calumnies  which  I  understand  to  have  been  ut- 
tered. 

Yours,  respectfully, 

Hackney,  May  31, 1836.  F.  A.  COX. 


Sir, — Allow  me  to  insert  in  your  columns  a  very  brief 
remark  on  two  words  used  by  Mr.  Thompson  in  his  letter, 
which  is  headed  'Slavery  in  America,'  in  your  paper  of 
Mav  23.  3 


234  MEETING  AT 

Mr.  Thompson  states,  that  ray  version  of  his  concluding 
remarks,  at  the  New  York  Abolition  Meeting  last  year, is 
an  '  entire  misrepresentation.' 

I  had  not  seen  your  paper  of  the  above  date  when  I  ad- 
dressed to  Mr.  Thompson  a  letter  from  Ledbury  yester- 
day, which  I  presume  will  be  read  by  him  at  the  meeting 
advertised  for  to-morrow,  the  26th,  and  probably  find  its 
way  into  your  pages.  Had  I  seen  the  above  uncourteous 
remark,  I  should  certainly  not  have  troubled  myself  to  send 
an  answer  to  his  invitation. 

I  have  not  designedly  misrepresented  any  thing.  As 
Mr.  Thompson  stands  pledged  to  prove  such  misrepresen- 
tation 'from  the  book  itself/  the  public,  of  course,  will 
be  enabled  to  decide. 

It  is  a  little  singular  that  the  proof  sheet  was  at  my 
house  when  a  mutual  friend  from  America,  a  most  deter- 
mined Abolitionist,  who  was  present  at  the  meeting,  was 
visiting  me.  I  expressed  to  him  my  doubt  about  one  ex- 
pression, and  requested  him  to  read  what  I  had  written. 
He  did  so,  and  his  reply  immediately  was,  ■  Oh,  it  is  true 
enough,  there  is  no  doubt  but  he  said  all  that.' 
I  remain,  your  obedient  servant, 

Coleford,  May  25,  1836.  JAMES  HOBY. 

P.  S.  Perhaps  I  ought  to  add,  thatl  nevertheless  struck 
out  the  expression  on  which  I  entertained  a  doubt. 


Sir, — At  the  extraordinary  meeting  held  in  Devonshire 
square  Chapel  on  last  Thursday  evening,  some  persons  ap- 
peared somewhat  displeased  with  me,  inasmuch  as,  when 
Mr.  Thompson  stated  that  Dr.  Cox  had  pledged  himself, 
'  in  the  midst  of  his  brethren,'  as  to  the  line  of  conduct  he 
would  pui  sue  on  the  subject  of  American  slavery,  I  took 
the  liberty  of  asking,  '  Where  J. '  Mr.  Thompson  refer- 
red to  the  Rev.  T.  Price  as  his  authority,  and  that  gentle- 
man stated  that  it  was  in  a  committee-meeting  of  the  Bap- 
tist Union,  Ittit  lie  bad  forgotten  where. 

The  minute-book  of  that  Committee,  Sir,  now  lies  be- 
fore me,  and  I  find  that,  from  April  28, 1834,  when  it  was 
resolved  to  recommend  to  the  Annual  Meeting  to  send  a 
deputation  to  America,  until  the  period  of  their  departure, 
fourteen  meetings  of  the  Committee  were  held,  at  one  only 
of  which  Mr.  Price  was  present.     This  meeting  was  held 


LONDON.  235 

at ■ Stepney  College,  August  27,  1834,  present— the  Her. 
W.  H.  Murch,  in  the  chair;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cox,  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Trice,  Stovel,  Thomas,  Belcher,  and  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Edmonds,  A.  M.,  of  Cambridge,  and  the  Rev. 
S.  Green,  Jim.,  of  Thrapstone,  as  visitors.'  Now,  will 
Mr.  Price  have  the  kindness  to  say  whether  the  *  pledge  ' 
was  given  at  that  meeting  1  Certainly  nothing  of  the  kind 
can  be  learnt  from  the  minutes. 

I  am.  Sir,  very  truly  yours, 

JOSEPH  BELCHER. 
27,  Paternoster-row,  May  30,  1836. 


Sir, — In  Dr.  Cox's  reply  to  Mr.  Thompson,  inserted 
in  your  paper  of  the  25th,  an  allusion  is  obviously  made  to 
myself,  which  I  cannot  permit  to  pass  unnoticed.  "When 
specifying  his  reasons  for  not  meeting  Mr.  T.,  the  doctor 
remarks,  '  I  say  nothing  of  the  kindness  or  piety  of  the 
parties  who  have  prepared  the  arena.'  I  ha\e  no  dispo- 
sition to  carp  at  the  terms  here  employed.  The  doctor 
was  at  liberty  to  select  such  as  he  pleased,  though  his  vo- 
cabulary might,  possibly,  have  supplied  others  more  per- 
tinent and  suitable.  My  object,  Mr.  Editor,  is  to  state, 
for  the  information  of  your  readers,  what  Dr.  Cox  un- 
doubtedly felt  assured  of,  while  penning  this  passage,  that 
I  am  the  only  person  who  had  any  thing  to  do  with  the 
affair.  I  granted  the  use  of  the  chapel  to  Mr.  Thompson, 
on  my  own  responsibility,  without  consulting  an  individ- 
ual, and  am  not  now  disposed  to  shrink  from  any  of  the 
consequences  which  this  step  fairly  involves.  1  am  the 
more  desirous  of  this  being  known,  because  it  has  been  in- 
timated to  one  of  my  deacons,  by  a  gentleman  officially 
connected  with  the  doctor,  that  the  granting  of  the  place 
to  Mr.  Thompson  would  be  regarded  a?-  an  act  of  hostility 
on  the  part  of  the  Devonshire-square  church  towards  that 
meeting  in  Mare-street,  Hackney.  Nothing  can  be  more 
groundless  or  absurd  than  such  an  insinuation,  as  the  above 
statement  must  clearly  show. 

1  granted  the  place  to  Mr.  Thompson  on  public  grounds, 
for  the  delivery  of  a  lecture  on  the  character  of  American 
Slavery,  and  the  progress  of  the  abolition  cause  in  that 
country,  fully  aware  that  these  topics  would,  of  necessity 
involve  a  reference  to  the  part  which  had  been  acted  by 


236  MEETING  AT 

the  Baptist  deputation.  The  only  condition  I  required 
from  Mr.  T.  was,  that  he  should  immediately  announce 
his  intention  to  the  two  gentlemen  constituting  that  depu- 
tation, and  proffer  them  an  opportunity  of  replying  to  his 
statements.  To  this  he  most  cordially  assented,  stating 
that  it  was  perfectly  coincident  with  his  own  views  of  what 
was  right :  I  stood  in  a  similar  relation  to  both  parties, 
being  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Union  from  which  the  Drs. 
Cox  and  Hoby  had  proceeded  to  America,  and  of  the  Brit- 
ish and  Foreign  Abolition  Society,  by  which  Mr.  Thomp- 
son was  sent  to  that  country.  I  entertained  an  unfeigned 
respect  for  all  these  gentlemen,  and  when  I  found  that 
there  were  points  in  dispute  between  them,  affecting  their 
public  character,  and  bearing  directly  en  the  interests  of  a 
cause,  to  which,  in  my  more  healthful  and  vigorous  days, 
I  had  devoted  my  best  energies,  and  when  I  knew  that 
these  matters  were  already  public,  I  felt  assured,  and  I  do 
still  feel  assured,  that  it  was  alike  due  to  Dr.  Cox,  to  Mr. 
Thompson,  and  to  the  noble-minded  men  whom  God  has 
raised  up  on  behalf  of  suffering  humanity  in  America,  to 
give  to  the  two  parties  a  fair  opportunity  of  stating  their 
case  before  the  public  and  in  the  presence  of  each  other. 
I  cheerfully  granted  my  chapel  to  Mr.  Thompson,  and  I 
should  have  been  equally  ready  to  grant  it  to  Dr.  Cox  on 
the  same  condition.  The  interests  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness were  never  yet  promoted  by  the  concealment  of  facts 
respecting  the  public  proceedings  of  public  men.  Nor  did 
it  once  enter  into  my  mind  that  Dr  ('.  would  hesitate  to 
be  present  on  such  an  occasion,  as  I  had  heard  him  prior 
to  the  return  of  Mr.  T.  say,  '  Mr.  Thompson  has  threat- 
ened me  with  a  meeting  at  Exeter  Hall;  I  am  ready  to 
meet  him  there  or  elsewhere.' 

Here,  Mr.  Editor,  I  should  be  glad  to  close  my  com- 
munication; but  a  regard  to  Mr.  Thompson,  and  to  the 
Society  which  he  represents,  compels  me  very  briefly  to 
advert  to  two  or  three  ver\  gross  inaccuracies  into  which 
the  doctor  has  fallen.  I  am  the  more  surprised  at  these  in- 
accuracies, as  Dr.  C.j  I  am  informed,  called  at  Alderman- 
bury  only  a  few  hours  before  drawing  up  his  letter,  and  ex- 
amined the  minute-book  of  the  Sock  ty. 

1.  Dr.  Cox  states  that  Mr.  Thompson  was  sent  to 
America  by  three  persons.  Here  he  is  entirely  mistaken, 
as  the  slightest  attention  to  the  minute-book  was  sufficient 
to  have  shown  bim.     The  Committee  Meeting,  to  which 


LONDON.  237 

Dr.  Cox  refers,  when  only  three  persons  were  present,  was 
held  after  Mr.  T's  departure  from  London  for  America. 
He  was  then  at  Liverpool,  waiting  for  a  favorable  wind,  to 
proceed  on  the  Mission  to  which  he  had  been  invited  by 
the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society. 

The  Scottish  Abolition  Societies  had  united  with  that 
in  London,  in  urging  him  to  accept  this  invitation,  and  had 
contributed  liberally  towards  the  expense  which  would  be 
involved.  Mr.  T's  mission  to  the  United  States  was  con- 
templated by  the  Society  from  the  moment  that  its  title 
was  changed  from  the  Agency  Anti-Slavery  Society  to  that 
of  the  British  and  Foreign  Society,  &c.  I  moved  in  the 
Committee  the  adoption  of  the  new  title,  and  America 
was  at  once  fixed  on  as  the  first  scene  of  our  operations, 
and  Mr.  T.  as  the  agent  who  should  carry  out  our  plans. 
The  fact  is,  Dr.  Cox  has  most  strangely  mistaken  the  ob- 
ject of  the  Committee  Meeting  to  which  he  refers,  and 
when  three  persons  only  were  present.  It  was  summoned 
under  the  following  circumstances: — After  Mr.  T.  had 
left  for  Liverpool,  on  his  way  to  America,  news  arrived 
of  the  destruction  of  the  Chapels  at  New  York.  Mr. 
George  Stephen  immediately  called  at  Aldermanbury,  and 
entreated  the  Secretary  to  get  a  few  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee together  instantly,  that  additional  instructions  might 
be  drawn  up  for  Mr.  T.  This  was  done,  on  the  spur  of 
the  moment;  and  three  gentlemen  met;  and  Mr.  Scoble 
was  sent  to  Liverpool  by  the  speediest  conveyance  that 
could  be  obtained.  In  confirmation  of  my  statements,  I 
refer  to  Mr.  Scoble,  our  esteemed  Secretary,  and  to  the 
Minute-book  of  the  Society,  which,  I  am  sure,  he  will 
freely  exhibit  to  any  gentleman  desiring  satisfaction  on 
this  point. 

2.  Mr.  Thompson  having  referred  to  Dr.  Cox's  silence 
at  the  special  meeting  of  the  anti-slavery  committee,  on  the 
16th  of  March  last,  Dr.  C.  replies,  '  Mr.  T.  has  not  told 
the  public  that  I  not  only  attended,  but  was,  and  that  by  a 
kind  of  compulsion,  placed  in  the  chair.  Perhaps  this 
concealment  resembles  that  of  my  note  at  New  York,  un- 
intentional and  accidental.'  The  Doctor  afterwards  refers 
to  the  delicacy  of  his  situation  as  chairman,  as  one  of  the 
circumstances  which  imposed  silence  on  him.  I  was  not 
present  at  this  committee,  but  having  attentively  examined 
the  minute-book,  and  having  received  a  detailed  account 
of  what  passed,  from  the  secretary,  I  am  competent  to  »ay 
that  the  facts  of  the  case  are  simply  these  :— 


238  MEETING    AT    LONDON. 

When  the  committee  met,  there  were  but  three  or  four 
gentlemen  present.  One  and  another  excused  himself 
from  taking  the  chair.  Dr.  Cox  being  requested  to  occu- 
py it,  remarked  that  he  had  a  question  of  privilege  to 
bring  on,  which  might  render  it  inexpedient  that  he  should 
be  in  the  chair.  He  was  then  asked  to  occupy  it  while 
the  pro  forma  business  was  transacted,  by  which  time,  it 
was  remarked,  some  other  gentleman  would  arrive  that 
could  take  his  place.  He  consented  to  this  request — the 
pro  forma  business  was  gone  through,  and  the  Doctor 
being  then  asked  by  the  secretary  to  vacate  the  chair,  de- 
clined to  do  so,  stating,  that  he  thought  he  could  do  more 
justice  to  his  views  in  his  present  situation.  At  a  subse- 
quent part  of  the  proceedings  of  the  committee,  he  was 
again  requested  by  the  secretary  to  leave  the  chair,  but 
again  declined.  So  much  for  Mr.  Thompson's  conceal- 
ment, and  the  delicate  situation  of  Dr.  Cox.  Here  I 
again  appeal  to  Mr.  Scoble  and  the  minute-book. 

3.  Mr.  T.  having  requested  his  readers  to  compare  Dr. 
Cox's  version  of  the  speech  of  the  Rev.  Baron  Stow  with 
the  report  of  that  speech  in  the  New  York  Observer,  Dr. 
Cox  replies,  '  Well,  let  the  reader  compare,'  &c.  adding 
*  Behold  them,  then  in  parallel  columns.' 

Now,  Mr.  Editor,  would  any  of  your  readers  imagine 
otherwise  than  that  the  Doctor's  report,  taken  from  his 
own  book,  and  that  of  the  New  York  Observer  were  here 
before  him,  whole  and  entire  1  Such  certainly  was  my 
impression,  and  I  cannot  express  my  surprise,  when,  on 
comparing  them,  I  found  that  the  Doctor  had  omitted  the 
two  most  material  sentences  from  the  report  of  the  New 
York  Observer,  merely  remarking,  '  He  talked,  it  is  true, 
of  an  '  unpleasant  blush,'  and  wished  me  to  till  it  up  with 
reasons  for  die  omission,'  &c.  The  sentences  omitted  are 
the  following,  and  formed  the  first  and  the  last  of  Mr. 
Stow's  speech,  which  contained  three  others  : — Mr.  Stow 
said,  that  in  offering  this  resolution,  he  stood  before  the 
society,  in  circumstances  which  mantled  his  cheek  with  a 
most  unpleasant  blush.  Let  the  gentieman  himself  fill  it 
up  with  reasons  for  the  omission,  that  would  be  satisfac- 
tory to  himself,  to  his  own  country,  and  to  his  brethren 
throughout  the  world.'  Here,  Mr.  Editor,  as  in  the  for- 
mer instance,  I  have  to  do  with  facts  only;  and  no  one 
of  your  readers  will  be  better  pleased  than  myself  to  re- 
ceive a  satisfactory  explanation.  THO.  PRICE. 

Finchley  Common,  May  28,  1836. 


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